It hasn’t taken long for the smartphone to rise up the ranks to become the most commonly owned device from a global perspective (91 percent of internet users now own a smartphone). But the smartphone’s rapid ascent has had a dramatic and ongoing impact upon the composition of the mobile market.
A look back at 2012 – when accessibility to smartphones was still relatively undeveloped – shows a time when Nokia’s phones still had a hold on the market. But in just two years, Nokia’s figures here almost halved as global smartphone penetration came on in leaps and bounds, with 2014 seeing Samsung significantly ahead and the iPhone posting modest figures.
Step forward to 2016, when lower price points and a broad range of handset models has significantly increased accessibility to this tech, especially in fast-growth markets, and Samsung is in the lead again, but the iPhone has gained serious ground. Most importantly, however, there is rise of homegrown brands from the East like Huawei step into the mix, with rapidly growing online populations like India being firmly in their sights.
