The global handset market could register flat growth in 2015, according to sources at Taiwan-based IC design houses, adding that they have seen customer orders pick up at a slow pace.

Demand for smartphones, which should drive overall handset market growth, has been disappointing since 2015, the sources said. Upstream chip providers have turned cautious preparing for a worst-case scenario that growth in the handset market for 2015 could be zero, the sources indicated.

Smartphone sales in China and other emerging markets were particularly weak in the first quarter of 2015, due to a lack of subsidies from local mobile operators as well as the strong US dollar, the sources observed. For the second quarter, orders from the markets are still picking up at a slower-than-expected pace.

Meanwhile, the entry-level handset market is losing momentum with growth depending only on replacement demand, the sources said. The shrinking market segment will affect negatively the overall handset market demand.