In 2015, research firm Gfk reported that year-on-year growth in the smartphone market would decline as the market reached saturation point. This temporary decline in growth was anticipated as the technology behind smartphones continues to stagnate, meaning that new mobile releases lack any noticeable upgrades or key differential features.
Interestingly, the bottom line decline in growth was even more pronounced than initially predicted, with a drop of 7% being reported as total revenues increased by just 1% to $399.2 billion. GfK reported that 1.3 billion smartphones were sold around the world in 2015, and while this generated a sizable turnover it below even conservative expectations for the market as a whole. GfK had predicted that growth would fall by a minimal amount of 14%, but this was more than double the final rate recorded.
So despite a record financial quarter in terms of sales volumes and revenues, the smartphone market has clearly hit a wall in terms of growth and innovation. This is no surprise, even when you account for the huge range of handsets and branded smartphones that are available in the current marketplace. Many of the mobile upgrades that we see during the course of the year are nominal at best, while the range of available features has scarcely improved or diversified over the course of the last year or so.
Even the rise of online gaming has not been able drive higher levels of growth in the smartphone market. While casino outlets offer innovative gaming platforms and informative resources such as this ‘how to play roulette’ feature, the handsets themselves do not offer unique selling points or value propositions.
This is in contrast with the tablet market, which has far greater novelty appeal (particularly for gamers) while these devices feature a wide array of more specific features. This market has yet to peak or reach its zenith, meaning that it may well make up ground on smartphones over the course of the next five years.
Editorial Staff