TAIPEI, Taiwan－ Taiwan Research Institute, Industrial Economics and Knowledge (IEK) announced that due to benefits from continual growth in new and developing markets, in 2015 global smart phone sales will continue to grow. At the same time, the product prices will become more fiercely competitive. In 2016, 54% of smart phone retail prices are projected to be under US$200.
IEK pointed out that under the influence of fierce market competition, changes will emerge in both product form and the product ecosystem, and at the same time, brand names rankings will also change. Among them, Chinese brands, relying on massive sales in the domestic market, will become global leaders. However, after gradual saturation in the domestic market, they will continue to experience overseas growth.
Currently, the top-ranked brand, Samsung is also facing extreme competition from Apple (high-end cellphones) and Chinese Android cellphones (low-end cellphones), and its ranking will slip.
IEK also pointed out that developing countries are still the main driving force in the global cellphone market, especially India, which is the leader in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America regions.
Benefiting from massive populations and a rising middle class, smart phone sales will continue to climb in these regions. At the same time, they will attract investment from more and more international brands.
However IEK emphasized that although demand is high in developing markets, companies also will face challenges from different market ecosystems, route configurations, and local brands.
