Global smartphone market to remain stable in 2020

Nearly half of the consumer budget for tech and durable goods in 2020 will be occupied by the smartphone. In a research study by GfK, it is concluded that this is a total turnover of €444 billion.

The demand for smartphones is expected to stay stable in 2020, after a slight decline of two per cent in units in 2019. An estimated 1.37 billion smartphones will be sold globally. However, depending on the impact of the coronavirus on the global supply chains and the product capacity, the demand can be significantly lower.

Premium and performance have become consumer standards, states Pavlin Lazarov, GfK expert for Telecom. "Impressing consumers with groundbreaking innovations has been a challenge in recent years. Especially when it comes to the market for smartphones. The interaction with what is probably the most personal device has increased to such high levels and with it, the expectation for its hardware and performance." Despite this already high standard, consumers are still looking forward to new models to hit the market. This concludes the research from the fact that four out of five smartphones sold in 2019, launched in Q4-2019. "Exciting the consumer with the right value-for-money can be a successful strategy," Lazarov adds.

Internal storage capacity

Consumers consider the internal storage capacity the most important feature when choosing a smartphone, despite cloud storage services. 37% of all smartphones sold in 2019 have a storage capacity of 128GB or more. This is why, currently, many smartphone brands follow the mantra "the more, the better". Another important feature for consumers is the battery life. As a result, 38% of all sold smartphones in 2019 had a battery capacity of at least 4,000 mAh. Performance speed is also important. Combined, these features should result in rich experiences which consumers are expecting and appreciating. 

5G

Upcoming are smartphones that can use the major technological development related to performance and experience: 5G. More than ten brands already offer 5G smartphones in their assortment. In South-Korea, 33% of all smartphones sold in Q4-2010 were 5G-ready. To compare, this percentage was only 2% in Great Britain and Australia. China, the world's biggest smartphone market, catches up. 8% of all devices sold have the 5G feature.

Consumers want convenience

Consumers continuously look for ways to improve their well-being. This translates to an increase in wearable devices (+28% in 2019). The increase in value terms is bigger (+40%). Here, the driving force is the high demand for smartwatches and wrist sport computers. With consumers focusing on their health, functionalities such as blood pressure and blood oxygen measurement gain traction. Other features considered important are the availability of music. The latest development in this field regards the wireless earbuds, which achieved triple-digit growth in 2019.