Although smartphone sales will continue to grow in emerging markets, the growth rate will slow down due to worsening economic conditions and the fact vendors have been unable to reduce the price of a ‘good enough to use’ smartphone lower than USD 50, said Gartner. In addition, sales in China and North America are set to be flat in 2016, posting a growth of just 0.7 percent and 0.4 percent respectively.
Worldwide combined shipments for devices (PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones) are expected to grow just 0.6 percent to 2.4 billion units in 2016, added Gartner, while end-user spending in constant US dollars is estimated to decline by 1.6 percent year on year. The global PC shipment market is set to reach a total of 284 million units in 2016, a fall of 1.5 percent compared to 2015, with traditional PCs expected to decline 6.7 percent. Demand for ultramobiles (basic and utility tablets) will also continue to weaken, with a decline of 3.4 percent in 2016 due to users extending the lifetimes of their devices or failing to replace them at all.