Although smartphone sales don’t have the dramatic year-on-year growth they once had, ABI Research has published a new report that shows these sales figures are still increasing.
It expects 1.25 billion smartphones to be shipped this year, with smartphone shipments forecast to pass the 2 billion mark in 2018. Overall, smartphone shipments are expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 12% from 2014 to 2019.
Nick Spencer, senior practice director at ABI Research, said “While smartphone growth is beginning to fall, plenty of growth remains, with smartphone penetration of mobile subscribers under 30% worldwide. Most advanced and affluent markets already have 60%+ penetration, so the growth is driven by developing markets and the reduction in smartphone ASPs.”
According to ABI Research, this growth in smartphones is being driven by Chinese and Indian smartphone manufacturers creating low-cost Android-based devices.
[ABI Research Smartphones and Handsets Research Service]