Smartphones and premium computers up, simple laptops down
Faster processors in smartphones and larger screens mean that we do not need other devices. Confirming this trend is the fact that the global tablet market decreased by 13.5 percent in the second quarter of 2018. The exception to this rule are the results of Apple and Huawei, which recorded an increase in tablet sales during this period. Instead, phablets (smartphones with a screen size of 5.5 inches to <7 inches) are gaining more and more followers. Research firm IDC predicts that phablet sales will outpace smartphone sales as early as 2019. In 2021 as many as 1 billion devices of this type will be sold. Bigger screen means m.in. more pleasant viewing of movies, easier editing of documents. This trend is confirmed by Apple's policy: the iPhone 4 of 2010 – 3, 5 inches, the iPhone 8 – 4.7 (2017), and the iPhone 8 Plus – 5.5 inches (2017.).
Premium smartphones on the top..
Overall smartphone market holds strong. In the first half of 2018, worldwide sales of these devices totaled 693 million units. According to Gfk Polonia research, total revenues from smartphone sales increased by 3 percent. Compared to the same period last year, smartphone sales amounted to 215.3 billion euros. An upward trend in purchases of premium devices is becoming apparent, which contributed to a 4 percent increase in the average selling price. Nearly 20 percent. Smartphones currently sold in Poland enable 4K video playback.
In our country, the demand for smartphones in the price segment above 500 euros has increased by 20 percent in the last year. Interestingly, developing countries are an increasingly important market for mobile devices. Thus, Asian countries, including India and China, accounted for around 41 percent in the first half of 2018. of total smartphone sales in the world.
Powerful computers are also on the rise
The growing smartphone market is affecting other markets, including PCs and desktops.
– The impact of smartphones on the computer market is twofold. On the one hand they take the market away from notebooks and on the other they inspire manufacturers to release products that are also nice, interesting and very efficient – explains Maciej Piekarski from GfK Polonia. – Smartphones are devices not only for work, entertainment, but also highlight our personality, are part of our lifestyle. Therefore, modern laptops are becoming similar to smartphones in this respect.
Research conducted by Gfk Polonia indicates that computers with high-end processors, expanded RAM, flash memory (SSD) and hybrid hard drives (HDD + SSD) are generating increasing sales. Demand for more expensive premium PCs continues to grow, which means that even though the entire desktop segment saw a decline of 14 percent in the first six months of 2018, the industry has no reason to be sad. Increase in average price of PCs contributed to stabilization of revenues (at constant euro exchange rate), which decreased globally by 5%., to the level of EUR 2 billion for desktop computers and by 4 percent., to 13.3 billion euro for mobile computers.
There is a growing demand for more powerful computers
This trend is illustrated by the results of a study conducted by Gfk on the occasion of the IFA 2018 electronics fair in Berlin, showing that the revenue share of desktops with high-end processors in the entire category was almost 60 percent in the first half of 2018. Models with at least 8GB of RAM accounted for more than 61 percent of. turnover for both mobile and stationary computers. 4 out of 10 devices sold between January and June 2018 were equipped with SSDs.
To sum up, weaker computers are losing supporters to smartphones. Phablets are particularly fashionable. Premium PCs are gaining in popularity. Customers, as in the case of smartphones, want increasingly better machines that will feature fast processors, large RAM and good graphics.
