Research firm IHS predicts that smartphones will become the dominant mobile devices in terms of unit shipments as early as 2013, which will mark the first time that smartphones will make up more than half of all cellphone shipments. According to an IHS media tracker report, smartphone shipments in 2013 are forecast to account for 54% of the total cellphone market, up from 46% in 2012 and 35% in 2011. IHS predicts that double-digit growth in smartphone shipments will continue, driving the form factor’s share of overall sales to 67.4% by 2016.
According to IHS Senior Analyst for Wireless Communications Wayne Lam, the decline in smartphone prices in the past year and the growing variety of models has shot up the “sales of both low-end smartphones in regions like Asia Pacific, as well as midrange to high-end phones in the United States and Europe.”
The strong growth of the smartphone sector in the Philippines is said to be propelled by the increasing affordability of smartphones in the country. According to market research firm GfK Philippines, the Philippines is one of the fastest growing smartphone markets in the Southeast Asian region. GfK reports that consumers in the Philippines have bought five times as many smartphones in the first five months of 2012 compared to 2011, bringing smartphone sales to nearly 1.7 million units as of May 2012.
If you want to see some of the best smartphones in the Philippine market today, check out our September issue!