Research from financial firm Credit Suisse claims smartphone shipments will cross the 1.05 billion milestone in just two years, according to Reuters.
The result will be up from 687.9 million shipments this year, which is a 46 per cent increase on 2011.
China is said to be the key driver behind the increase, while cheaper devices are introduced into emerging and developed markets.
Kulbinder Garcha, analyst, said: "We see robust growth for the smartphone market in China, which we think will account for 22 percent of global units by 2015."
Apple is expected to dominate with a 23 per cent market share, while Nokia is expected to secure 11 per cent of the market by fighting back to recovery in 2013 due to pricing and distribution strategies.