Dubai: With sales expected to increase 1,000%, the number of smart-phone to be sold to reach 1.35b in 2015, but over a billion of them will be upgrades – new phones for those who already have one according to a latest report by Deloitte.
The report says the upgrade cycle may be lengthening, but screen size, speed, storage, software and design will continue to drive growth for smartphone refreshes.
This year in-store smartphone purchases worldwide will increase by more than 1,000 percent from last year. While the mobile wallet won’t replace the traditional wallet yet, 2015 will be a tipping point toward wider consumer adoption of in-store smartphone payments. This is according to the 14th edition of Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions a report by Deloitte.
Additionally, Deloitte predicts that print books will continue to dominate the publishing industry and account for 80 percent of all book sales by dollars and units, and that 2015 will be the year where enterprise will be ahead of consumers for adoption of new technologies such as 3D printing, Internet of Things (IoT) and drones.
Also, counter to previous industry predictions around the smartphone reaching a plateau, Deloitte predicts there will be 1 billion upgrades in 2015, signaling that the market has not yet matured or stagnated.
“Smartphones are already being used to check balances, transfer funds and transact online, but they have not reached a ‘mobile wallet’ status globally,” Santino Saguto, partner and Telecommunications, Media and Technology leader at Deloitte Middle East, said.
“We predict 2015 will be the first year that all mainstream mobile requirements will be addressed, making smartphone payment options easier, with user friendly security in place.”
Last year signaled a shift away from a decade-long trend of consumerization of Information Technology (IT), for example, with a modest consumer uptake of wearable technology like smart glasses. In 2015, however, Deloitte Global predicts the pendulum to swing further toward enterprise led adoption with wearable, 3D printing, drones and the IoT meeting more needs and generating higher sales for business than consumers.