Global smartphone purchases only grew 7 percent in Q1 as China sales sputtered

While the number of smartphones purchased globally in the first quarter of 2015 grew 7 percent, that’s a sharp drop from the 34 percent growth posted in the first quarter of 2014.

According to a new report from German market research firm GfK, 310 million smartphones were purchased between January and March 2015. While smartphone sales tend to be seasonal, the rate of growth is still below the overall 23 percent growth in units sold for all of 2014.

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GfK pegged a big chunk of the problem on China where it said sales of phones on 3G networks have become saturated. Sales of phones for 4G networks have not picked up the slack due to a slower-than-expected rollout of the faster wireless service.

The number of smartphones sold in China fell 14 percent during Q1, according to GfK’s data.

If correct, the numbers make Apple’s monster second quarter (which runs January to March) seem even more remarkable. The company reported it sold 61.2 million iPhones, smashing its own previous record and most expectations.

Overall, worldwide growth was driven to a large degree by phones with a larger screen size, a good indicator for Apple on the heels of the larger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus it rolled out last year.

GfK predicts sales in China will pick up in the second half of the year as 4G rollout ramps back up.

If there is one omen for Apple in the number, it’s that smartphones priced under $250 continue to increase market share, up to 56 percent in Q1 2015 from 52 percent in Q4 2014, according to GfK.

For the moment, though, Apple has had no trouble bucking the cheaper smartphone trend. That’s an area where Microsoft and Android phones are competing.

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Going forward, GfK projects the number of smartphones purchased will grow about 10 percent in 2015.