Low-cost Smartphones Likely to Take up Two-thirds of Global Market in Five Years

The ratio of high-end smartphones is predicted to decrease significantly until 2020 across the world, while that of budget smartphones is expected to increase to two-thirds of the market.

KB Investment & Securities predicted on Sept. 20 that smartphones priced at US$500 or higher would account for 14 percent of total global smartphone shipments in 2020, 12 percentage points less compared to 2013, whereas those available at US$190 or less will increase their share from 49 to 66 percent during the same period. It added that high-end smartphones’ ratio in terms of sales would fall from 66 to 43 percent, but cheaper handsets would rise from 17 to 28 percent between 2013 and 2020.

Samsung Electronics is increasing its budget smartphone supply as well. According to Strategy Analytics, Samsung Electronics’ non-premium smartphones are likely to account for 52 percent of its total supply this year, up five percentage points compared to the previous year. However, the ratio of premium smartphones is expected to decline from 31 to 29 percent during the same period. In this context, Apple is expected to come up with less expensive handsets in the form of the iPhone 6C or the like. The iPhone 5C, which was released two years ago, is currently not available in the market.