Smartphone sales have reached record levels in the Asia-Pacific (AP) region this year, both in terms of unit sales and smartphones as a percentage of total handset sales. While some developed countries are quickly approaching maximum smartphone penetration (StarHub in Singapore reports that 95% of mobile handset sales are smartphones), there is still plenty of room for more growth in emerging markets. In China, for instance, smartphones will make up only 23% of total handset unit sell-through in 2011. In 2011 smartphone sell-through in the AP region will reach 147m, up 53% from 2010 and representing 34% of the total global market. There is a confluence of factors creating this growth.
We expect that smartphone unit sales in AP will grow at a 30% CAGR from 2011-2016, so that in 2016 smartphones sold in AP will make up 57% of AP handset sell-through and represent 45% of global smartphone sell-through. The new wave of smartphone owners will bring a big demographic shift to the pool of smartphone owners. Some will be longtime feature phone or messaging phone users, while others may be relatively new to the mobile phone market. The new smartphone customers will include older users and more women.
This Insider analyzes the underlying trends driving smartphone sales growth in Asia-Pacific. Declining prices for smartphones and service plans, the rise of smartphone apps and mobile social networking apps, and operator initiatives such as subsidies for smartphones all play a role in the considerable growth that the segment has experienced this year. In the case studies, we examine the effect of mobile social networks such as Facebook on smartphone penetration, RIM’s role in the burgeoning smartphone market and compare subsidies for iPhones among different providers in Malaysia.
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