Mumbai: While global smartphone sales are expected to see a severe slowdown in 2016 due to saturation in most of the mature markets, India is expected to register double-digit growth on the back of falling prices of low- end models.
According to Gartner Inc, the worldwide smartphone sales are expected to grow by just seven per cent in 2016 to reach 1.5 billion units, down from 14.4 per cent growth in 2015. However, the smartphone sales in India are expected to register a 30 per cent growth in 2016.
With the average selling prices (ASPs) of low-end models falling, Gartner estimates that 139 million smartphones will be sold in India in 2016, a growth of 29.5 per cent over 2015.
According to Gartner, the smartphone market has reached 90 per cent penetration in the mature markets of North America, Western Europe, Japan and Asia or Pacific region, impacting future growth.
Additionally, users in these regions are not replacing or upgrading their smartphone as often as in previous years. “Since mature markets are saturated, the focus for many vendors is on India and China. India has the highest growth potential,” said Mr Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner.
