Our first Chart of the Day for 2017 takes a look at how the smartphone marketplace has changed over the past years. 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% 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 we see Samsung again in the lead but the iPhone has gained serious ground. Most importantly, however, we’re seeing homegrown brands from the East like Huawei step into the mix, with rapidly growing online populations like India being firmly in their sights.
