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Smartphone sales top 1bn this year says IDC
The forecast showed smartphone sales increased by 39.3% this year compared with last year, a pace that will moderate in the next few years.
One key factor in the market is the decline in smartphone prices, according to IDC. The average sales price this year is estimated at US$337, down 12% from a year ago and IDC predicts it will drop further to US$265 by 2017.
"The key driver behind smartphone volumes in the years ahead is the expected decrease in prices," said IDC analyst Ramon Llamas.
"Particularly within emerging markets, where price sensitivity and elasticity are so important. Prices will come down for smartphones and sales will move beyond the urban elite and into the hands of mass-market users.
"Every vendor is closely eyeing how far down they can price their devices while still realising a profit and offering a robust smartphone experience," Llamas said.
IDC expects the smartphone shipments to hit 1.7bn by 2017, with the growth rate easing to an average of 18.4% in the coming year.
"The game has changed quite drastically because of the decline" in prices, said IDC analyst Ryan Reith. "Just a few years back the industry was talking about the next billion people to connect and it was assumed the majority of these people would do so by way of the feature phone. Given the trajectory of (prices), smartphones are now a very realistic option to connect those users," Reith said.
The fastest growth in smartphones will be in the Asia-Pacific and Latin American regions, each expected to see increases of around 23% in the next four years.
IDC said the North America market, which already has a large number of smartphones, will see growth slow to about 7.8% while Europe's sales will decline slowly, reflecting growth of just 11% next year.
Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge
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