Hmmmmmm....
Obviously, at some point the growth rate for the smartphone market must slow...
when everyone has one.
Perhaps Gartner will get this one right...
But their track record in PC forecasts, and those of fellow traveler IDC, have
been off by miles in recent years. At least they are admitting in this report
that the PC market will contract again this year, although the level of decline
they predict seems optimistic at best, given the numbers for Q4/15 and recent
stats for this year.
Regards
Craig
On Apr 4, 2016, at 8:45 PM, Manfredi, Albert E <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329335&;
Smartphone Sales Growth Projected to Slip to 7%
Dylan McGrath
4/1/2016 06:12 AM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO-Smartphone sales will grow at the lowest rate on record and PC
sales will decline again in 2016, according to market research firm Gartner
Inc.
Gartner (Stamford, Conn.) said it expects smartphone sales to grow 7% this
year to reach 1.5 billion units. It would mark the first time that smartphone
sales grew at less than 10% in a year, according to the firm.
"The double-digit growth era for the global smartphone market has come to an
end," said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner, in a statement.
Atwal added that worsening economic conditions have historically had a
negligible impact on smartphone sales. But that is no longer the case, he
said. Smartphone sales in both North America and China are forecast to be
roughly flat this year.
The total mobile phone market is forecast to reach 1.9 billion units in 2016,
Gartner said.
Combined, global sales of PCs, tablets, "ultramobiles" and mobile phones are
projected to reach 2.4 billion in 2016, an increase of less than 1% from
2015, Gartner said.
Meanwhile, Gartner predicts that PC sales will decline once again in 2016.
The firm projects that global PC shipments will decline 1.5% to 284 million
units this year, with shipments of traditional PCs on pace to decline nearly
7%.
The good news is that Gartner also predicts that the PC market will "bottom
out" this year, returning to growth next year.
"In 2016, the PC market will reach its last year of decline before returning
to growth in 2017," Atwal said. "The biggest challenge, and potential benefit
for the PC market, is the integration of Windows 10 with Intel's Skylake
architecture. It has the potential for new form factors with more attractive
features."
Gartner also predicts that frustration with the limitations of tablets will
drive some consumers and businesses to review new form factors.
"However, to draw their interest the PC manufacturers need to ensure that
they meet demand with the right products at the right price," Atwal said.
-Dylan McGrath covers the semiconductor industry for EE Times.
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