Worldwide smartphone sales are forecast to grow from 1.5 billion units in 2015 to a record 1.7 billion by 2017, according to Strategy Analytics. China, India and the US are the big three countries driving smartphone growth worldwide.

India will overtake the US to become the world's second-largest smartphone market by 2017, selling 174 million units, said Strategy Analytics.

Strategy Analytics forecast that 458 million smartphones will be sold in China in 2015. The number will rise steadily to 505 million in 2017. "China has been the engine of global smartphone growth in recent years, but China is now maturing and slowing," said Linda Sui, director at Strategy Analytics.

"India is fast becoming the next major growth wave," Sui continued. Strategy Analytics forecast 118 million smartphones will be sold in India in 2015. Smartphone sales in India will expand further to 174 million in 2017, driven by low smartphone penetration, expanding retail availability of devices, wealthier middle-class consumers, and aggressive promotions from local smartphone brands like Micromax, the research firm said.

Meanwhile, smartphone sales in the US are forecast to climb marginally to 169 million units in 2017 from 164 million in 2015, Strategy Analytics said. In 2017, India will overtake the maturing US market to become the world's second largest smartphone country by volume, the research firm noted.