Shipment volume of the global mobile phone industry hit 477.5 million units in the third quarter of 2015, up 5.5% sequentially, according to MIC (Market Research & Consulting Institute), a Taipei-based tech research firm. Driven by seasonal demand and new product rollouts, the smartphone industry regained momentum in the third quarter and grew 5.9% sequentially to 357.3 million.
Major Smartphone Vendor Shipment Volume, 1Q 2013 – 1Q 2016
Note: The shipment figure of RIM – whose first-quarter of the fiscal year starts in March and ends in May – is incorporated into second-quarter shipment figure in this statistic report and so forth, such that RIM's shipment in the second quarter of fiscal year 2012, starting in June and ending in August, is incorporated into third-quarter shipment figure in this report.
Source: Respective companies and MIC, December 2015
Looking ahead to 2016, Edward Lin, senior industry analyst with MIC, forecasts that the global smartphone shipment will reach 1.53 billion units in total, growing at 7.2% year-on-year. However, key growth drivers are no longer from international brands like Samsung and Apple but from other local hidden champions in emerging countries.
"Local champions have a better understanding of regional characteristics and have local channel distributors as their partners, which help put them at an advantage," explains Lin. "Therefore, the rise of locally-made products is one of the key areas to look for in next year's smartphone industry."
Meanwhile, it will also be interesting to see what other areas smartphone vendors will be cultivating, aside from their core business. For instance, some have begun to set foot into wearables, while others have made attempts at smart telematics and smart home applications. While smartphone vendors have constantly unveiled their latest innovations and applications, monetization remains a problem and merits further observation in 2016.
To see more about this report, please visit: Worldwide Major Mobile Phone Vendor Performance, 4Q 2015
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Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC), based in Taipei, Taiwan, was founded in 1987. MIC is Taiwan's premier IT industry research and consulting firm providing intelligence, in-depth analysis, and strategic consulting services on global IT product and technology trends, focusing on markets and industries in Asia-Pacific. MIC is part of the Institute for Information Industry. https://mic.iii.org.tw/english