According to III's (Institute for Information Industry) latest survey, the number of smartphone users in Taiwan has topped over 13.5 million as of the second half of 2014, witnessing a penetration rate of 65.4%, reported China Times on December 30. The institute forecasts that Taiwan's smartphone market will step into saturation sometime around 2016, seeing 15.8 million smartphone users and a 76.3% penetration rate by the year. Regarding the tablet market, as of the second half of 2014, there have been over 6.04 million tablet users in Taiwan. III projects that the total number of tablet users will have reached 7.96 million by the year 2018, translating into a 40% penetration rate.