Global smartphone production is expected to slow down in 2018 at around 1.53 billion units, a mere 5% growth over the last year, due mainly to the arrival of the plateau period despite ambitious performances of Chinese brands, according to the latest forecast by Taipei-based tech research house, TrendForce Smartphone makers are tipped to face heavier cost pressure as the prices of key smartphone components rise constantly, TrendForce said, nothing last year’s strong momentum was mainly driven by Chinese telecommunication operators’ subsidies to users in 4G monthly fees, along with Chinese brands’ active deployment in emerging markets.