Smartphone market seeing steady growth, as bigger screens rule

The global smartphone market is expected to see steady if unspectacular growth in the next few years, as consumers turn increasingly to large-screen handsets known as “phablets,” a market tracker said.

A report by the research firm IDC said phablets — with displays larger than 5.5 inches (14 centimeters) — will account for some 40 percent of the 1.5 billion smartphones sold in 2017, and that the phablet share will rise to more than half by 2019.

The overall smartphone market is on a modest growth pace of around three percent that will boost global sales to 1.7 billion by 2021, according to IDC researchers. But growth is coming from the large-screen devices as sales dip for conventional handsets with displays of 5.5 inches or less, IDC said.

“In 2012, phablets were just one percent of smartphone shipments and now they are approaching 50 percent of the market just a few years later,” said Ryan Reith, an IDC analyst.

“Consumers continue to consume more video entertainment, gaming, social media, and other data-heavy applications on their smartphones making the display size and type a critical factor in smartphone buying decisions,” Reith added. IDC said iPhone buyers are following this trend, with the larger-screen Apple handsets …read more