The year is drawing to a close and you may be wondering how smartphones faired this year. IDC has that covered: 1 billion is the key figure here. IDC forecasts that smartphones are on course to hit the 1 billion mark by the end of the year representing a 39.3% increase over last year. IDC further projects that the smartphone market base will continue attracting new consumers particularly from emerging markets and hit the 1.7 billion mark by 2017.
Traditional smartphone markets like the North America and some European countries have recently showed signs of approaching saturation and that has been worrying many. That trend is expected to continue but it will not affect global smartphone shipments thanks to the emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), Asia/Pacific and Latin America that will push the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to 18.4% between this year and 2017 with the key volumes driver being the decline in smartphone prices.
IDC expects that the average selling price per device (ASP) will go down this year to peak at $337, a 12.8% drop when compared to last year’s $387. IDC expects the trend to continue with ASPs expected to reach $265 in 2017. At prevailing market rates, $265 in 2017 will be a huge drop and with device manufacturers keen on luring the budget-conscious buyer with devices like Motorola’s newly announced Moto G, interesting times lie ahead.
Source: IDC
Photo: TechFruit
