Smartphone market on growth path

By JAMES ANYANZWA

The global market for smartphones recorded a 13.4 percent growth in revenues to $365.5 billion last year even as 5G functionality failed to influence the market, according to the latest survey by the German-based consumer products industry consultants Growth from Knowledge (GfK).

A survey in the third quarter shows that only 25 percent of the consumers sampled would consider 5G as a factor in buying a smartphone.

According to the survey majority of the respondents (51 percent) consider the size of the internal memory as a very important factor in buying a smartphone followed by those that would consider the battery capacity (47 percent).

The Gfk consultants forecast a recovery for Smartphone market this year.

Last year, the industry started off positively recording revenue growth of 28.7 percent in the first and second quarters. According to the survey consumers looking to buy new smartphones are primarily choosing better, faster, or more powerful models, which caused the average price to rise to $ 368 last year compared to $318 in 2020.

“For 2022, the extent to which the increase in the need for premium products can counteract the fall in sales figures for smartphones still remains to be seen.”