As
smartphone market penetration increases in top markets, it has led to
a slowing growth in smartphone shipments on a global scale, according to new research from IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile
Phone Tracker report.
While
smartphone shipments are estimated to increase by 11.3 percent this year,
that’s down from the 27.6 percent growth seen in 2014. The forecast for 2015 is
in line with what IDC previously predicted for the market, which was an 11.8
percent growth for the year. The smartphone shipment slowdown isn’t all that
unexpected, as market penetration for smartphones had to eventually offset the
rising shipments.
IDC’s
research also shows that smartphone shipments will continue to taper overall,
but worldwide shipment volumes should still hit 1.9 billion in the next four
years. The most noticeable market in IDC’s report is China, where — for
the first time — smartphone growth will be slower than the rest of the world.
China’s smartphone shipment is expected to grow by just 2.5 percent in 2015.
“Smartphone
volume still has a lot of opportunity in the years to come, but two fundamental
segments driving recent years’ growth are starting to slow,” said Ryan
Reith, Program Director with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.
IDC previously reported this
month that China’s smartphone market shrank by 4 percent year over year in
2015’s first quarter, with 98.8 million units shipped. That tally, while
significant on an absolute basis, marks the first time in six years that the
Chinese smartphone market actually declined, year on year.
Apple was the top smartphone vendor in China in the latest
quarter, with 14.7 percent overall market share. IDC said consumers still
desire the larger screens that are a hallmark of both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6
Plus. Data released last month by another research firm, Kantar World panel
ComTech, showed urban consumers helped propel Apple to the No. 1 spot. Especially in
China where Android smartphone shipments had been a key figure, the saturated
smartphone market could hurt Android’s potential to tap into future
growth.
“As
Chinese OEMs shift their focus from the domestic market to the next high-growth
markets, they will face a number of challenges, including competition from
‘local’ brands,” IDC reported. The local brands referenced refer to companies
like Xiaomi, which has been growing its smartphone share in China quite
rapidly.
While
Apple faced a similar dip the past two years between 2012-2014, Apple’s shift
toward larger screen models have helped it gain back a larger share of
smartphone sales. IDC’s most recent research projects that iOS smartphones will
increase by 23 percent in 2015.
“There’s
no question that a large chunk of Apple’s installed base is still using older
models (pre-iPhone 6/6-Plus), which leaves continued growth opportunity in the
second half of 2015 and beyond,” Reith said. “In addition, IDC believes a
sizable portion of the Android installed base were those who migrated over to
the platform from iOS with the desire for a larger screen smartphone. This is
an opportunity Apple is no question focusing on. However, the price difference
between Android/iOS devices in many markets will remain a significant hurdle
for Apple.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment