During my tenures at various technology publications over the past decade, I often posted stories covering global smartphone, PCs, and laptop/tablet sales. Today’s blog is focused specifically on smartphones, which exploded in popularity over the past decade.
Analyst speculation about US smartphone saturation has increased as of late. In late 2018, Business Insider offered this tidbit of information:
“The US smartphone market is creeping toward saturation.
Business Insider
Penetration in the US hit 85% in 2018, up from 82% in 2017 and 77% in 2016.”
Even though there is significant saturation in the United States and other established markets, the industry still has work to do. Devices spread across a wide price spectrum, from entry-level devices all the way up to flagship phones, are packed with impressively powerful hardware – and feature-rich software, largely powered by Apple iOS or Google Android.
Not surprisingly, it looks like very few consumers are interested in paying out such big bucks for smartphones. Only two percent are ready to fork over around $1,500 for the latest Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy smartphone, according to a recent ECT News Network survey. Marginal incremental increases in smartphone features means premium device sales should remain a volatile market for manufacturers.
