Smartphone Shipments Continue To Increase

The International Data Center (IDC) has just released a new report that shows that the shipments of smartphones are only going to increase as the year pushes forward. The new report shows a total increase of 32.7 percent of smartphone shipments over 2012. The total number shipped by the end of this year is expected to surpass 958.8 million, compared to 722.5 million units shipped in 2012.

According to IDC this will be a bit of a benchmark as it marks the first time that smartphones will outsell feature phones. Smartphones are officially supposed to make up 52.2 percent of the mobile phone market around the world.

This news really should not shock anyone who has been paying attention to the mobile device market as a whole. Earlier this week, another industry analyst, IHS announced that they were projecting huge growth in the touch screen market in general. While that growth was being pushed by a combination of different devices, smartphones certainly were included.

The IDC report specifically cites a larger number of more affordable smartphones hitting the market these days. Some of that can be chalked up to promotions like AT&T’s adding high end smartphones like the iPhone to more affordable plans. The biggest growth in the market is expected to be in emerging markets. In particular, the report says that emerging markets will make up 64.8 percent of all shipments. That number is up from just 43.1 percent in 2012.

The average cost of smartphones is dropping quickly, the reason that emerging markets are embracing the devices. The average cost of a smartphone is expected to be about $372 per unit this year. In 2012 the average price was $407 and in 2011 the price averaged $443. By 2017, IDC expects the average price to hit just $309.