Research firm IDC has predicted the global market for small connected devices, comprising PCs, tablets, and smartphones, will grow by 27.8 percent year on year in 2013. According to the firm, the growth will be driven by tablets and smartphones. IDC states that this increase will result in tablet sales surpassing PC’s in Q4 of 2013 although the overall PC’s sales for the year will remain higher.
The total PC shipments accounted for nearly 28.7% of the smart connected device market in 2012, while tablets accounted for 11.8% and smartphones for 59.5% of the total device shipments.
IDC report also forecasts that tablet shipments will surpass total PC shipments on an annual basis by year end of 2015. Smartphones shipments will continue in high volumes and will surpass 1.4 billion units in 2015 and account for nearly 69% of all smart connected device shipments worldwide.
IDC states that by 2015 overall sales of smart connected devices like smartphones, tablets and PC’s will surpass 2 billion units and will have a market value of $735.1 billion. IDC adds the sales will be driven by low-cost devices that will spark interest in first-time buyers in commercial sectors like education.
Megha Saini, Research Analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Smart Connected Device Tracker stated:
“At a time when the smartphone and tablet markets are showing early signs of saturation, the emergence of lower-priced devices will be a game-changer. Introducing new handsets and tablet devices at cheaper price points along with special initiatives like trade-in programs from Apple and BestBuy will accelerate the upgrade cycle and expand the total addressable market overnight.”
Source: IDC