The share of 5G smartphones is predicted to reach 59.5 percent in China this year, market consultancy Gartner said Wednesday.

The growing availability of 5G networks coupled with a higher variety of 5G smartphones starting at $200 will steer demand in mature markets and China, said Anshul Gupta, senior research director at Gartner.

5G is now a standard feature in premium smartphones, especially in China, the United States, Japan and South Korea, Gupta said, adding that driven by lower-cost models, adoption is particularly aggressive in China.

Gartner forecasts sales of smartphones will total 1.5 billion units worldwide in 2021, with 539 million units or 35 percent of them 5G smartphones.

China's smartphone sales is expected to total 409.97 million units in 2021, compared with 368.02 million units in 2020, Gartner said.