The global mobile phone market will reach 2.35 billion units sold in 2019, up from 1.96 billion in 2014, according to the latest forecast by technology market analyst CCS Insight, while CCS Insight's forecast shows that despite continued growth in emerging markets, the European and North American markets are close to saturation and are poised for a peak in 2017 before sales decline markedly.
Jasdeep Badyal, an analyst and specialist in smart devices, states that “If we do not see any revolutionary event comparable to the appearance of iPhone in 2007, then after 2017 sales in Western Europe and North America will begin to decline slowly but surely. ”
CCS Insight's forecast focuses on the diminishing importance of the smartphone against the backdrop of a rapidly growing variety of gadget categories. Tablets, game consoles, fitness trackers, smartwatches, VR headsets and other devices are increasingly competing for the consumer's wallet.
Badyal commented on this situation as follows: “There are many different types of devices on the market right now, fighting for the buyer's money, which he is willing to allocate from his personal budget for the purchase of gadgets. Add to that the lack of radical innovation in the smartphone sector, which is one of the reasons why owning the latest and most sophisticated phone is not as important as it was a few years ago. For most people in Europe and North America, it is enough to have a mid-range smartphone with a large screen and a large battery. ”
A special position is occupied by the products of the “apple” company: despite all these factors, Apple with its Oscar-winning iPhone continues to swim against the tide, increasing its profits with alternating success. The American corporation plays into the hands of the considerable popularity of outdated and initially less expensive models iPhone in the emerging markets of China, India and Indonesia – a smartphone with an apple on the back in these countries is considered a sign of a successful person, and people who are ready to purchase for the first time iPhone, having laid out a considerable amount there is still quite a lot.
As for other operating systems, the most popular among them remains mobile Windows from Microsoft, which requires huge investments in marketing in order to somehow compete with Android and iOS, whose total share last 2015 was an incredible 95%. Among other players, it is worth noting the operating systems Blackberry OS and Firefox OS, but their share is so small that they will certainly not be able to influence the dynamics of sales of mobile equipment.
