Shipments of new devices ranging from PCs to tablets are expected to contract in 2015. According to research firm Gartner, users are not replacing older devices like laptop computers with newer ones as frequently as they did in yesteryears and this will contribute significantly in the 1% drop in device shipments this year when compared to last year.
Device shipments will drop to 2.39 billion this year down from 2.42 billion in 2014.
While it is all dark and gloom for PCs, tablets and other devices, it is mobile phones whose shipments are expected to increase to close to 2 billion units. The rise in mobile phone shipments will be as a result of increase in demand for smartphones. Smartphone shipments will rise by 14% in 2015 with the world’s largest smartphone market, China, expected to grow by 3% while the bubbling Asia/Pacific block that includes powerhouses India and Indonesia will be the key driver with shipments growing by 43%.
In summary:
- There will be fewer PCs, tablets and other devices (Gartner calls them ultramobiles) sold this year
- Demand for smartphones means that mobile phones are the only devices to experience positive rise in shipments in 2015
- China, India and other countries in emerging smartphone markets are key in sustaining the rise in smartphone shipments as the West struggles with saturation
- After smartphones surpassed feature phones in shipments last year, smartphones will now make up a huge portion of shipped mobile phones and feature phone shipments will only keep shrinking going forward
