GLOBAL SMARTPHONE GROWTH

Talking about the global smartphone growth, maybe you’ll guess China is the leader… Well, it’s kinda make sense as China contributes as one of the biggest smartphone maker in the world. But, let’s check this out first then we can make the conclusion

Rule of “Thumb”

I quoted the Thumb! Don’t you realize? Lol! Thumbs contribute a lot for us to use smartphone… I like to do massage and one day, when the woman who gave me the massage rub the joints beneath my thumbs and she said that I had the same problems like many other young people that she massaged. She said that young people too often played their smartphone and without we realizing it, slowly, it could move the joints of our thumbs!

Apple, Samsung, Apple, Samsung, Apple, Samsung, XIAOMI!

1 of 4 Apple stores in Shanghai

Apple and Samsung did quite duopolize the smartphone market. Though there were a lot of other smartphone brands, but they did stand out. Then XiaoMi broke the market as it offered low price smartphone with good quality.

Global smartphone shipments are expected to see their first full year of single-digit growth worldwide in 2015, after years of galloping growth topping 10%, according to the International Data Corporation, a market research firm. Smartphone shipments globally will grow 9.8% in 2015 to a total of 1.43 billion units, according to the study, and the slower growth is expected to intensify over the next few years.

“Identity” Crisis

Smartphone sales in developing countries such as China, India and Indonesia have driven growth in recent years. But China is pretty saturated now. It has shifted from a market of first-time smartphone buyers to a place where most consumers are replacing a previous phone. The firm forecasts smartphone shipment growth in China to be in the low single digits this year.

When Apple opened its first store in China

The smartphone industry nowadays is bumping up against barriers such as illiteracy, poverty and the availability of high-speed networks in some regions, for example Africa. Xiaomi and Micromax Informatics are targeting Africa with low-cost phones incentive.

However, consumers in developing countries may replace their smartphones more frequently than in more well developed countries, a trend that could bolster the growth of smartphone sales. And yes this is so true! In China, when iPhone 6 first launched, lots of people used it just some days after it launched… And guess what! People who used it were not people who went to expensive shopping malls, but to street eateries, night market and mostly were young people riding bus everywhere… Hmmm… In Indonesia, same phenomenon happens! The crazy thing in Indonesia (similar to China though), people there mostly will buy Samsung or Apple, not XiaoMi (please note that the XiaoMi market in Indonesia is growing rapidly), or other brands.

Smartphone Effect

But smartphone sales aren’t dead by a long shot, even in countries like the U.S. Sales of the iPhone 6s jumped 36% over last week’s Black Friday weekend. Samsung’s Galaxy S6 sales also rose up to 68%.