Rising demand for next-gen smartphones and businesses updating its equipment are powering sales growths; the estimates will see a 2 billion units sales forecast in 2018. According to Gartner, this growth will see shipment numbers returning into the positive charts. This will now be the trend for the next 12 months.
After a decline of 3% in 2017, the data research firm predicts a turnaround of 1.3%. As is, end-user device spending continues to rise with many expecting it to increase to 7% in 2018.
“This increase will be via better specifications alone; this is despite increasing costs in ASPs for devices rose by 9.1% last year. As is, this trend will continue into 2018, with prices increasing by 5.6%,” says Ranjit Atwal, Gartner Research Director.
On the mobile device front, Gartner has forecast an increase – specifically by 1.6% – in 2018; the total device sales is likely to be around 1.9 billion units. In 2019, smartphone sales will continue to grow, going at 5% year-on-year.
Overall, Gartner estimates that mobile phone lifetimes will increase from 2017 through 2020. Going by its own research, these longevity will increase the most in the near-term. As is, users look to hold onto these devices due to a lack of new technology impacts that prohibit upgrades.
Come 2020, artificial intelligence (AI) will offer a more intelligent digital persona on the device. Machine learning, biometrics and user behaviour will improve the ease of use, self-service and frictionless authentications.
As for the PC segment, its growth will continue even if shipments continue to fluctuate year-on-year. Even if prices go up, most predict a rise by 4.6%, sales numbers will become stable. Unfortunately, a decline will likely occur, shaving off 3.9% from last year’s sales results.
Similar to smartphones, new features may positively impact the sales of PCs; specifically laptops and the like. Future AI capabilities, including natural-language processing and machine perception, will allow these devices to learn. Eventually, it will plan and solve problems for users. All these developments will contribute to the 2 billion units sales forecast.
