Low-cost smartphones and tablets will in a few short years become the norm, and mobile devices will become the go-to device for all online activities for more than half the population, Gartner is predicting.
The research firm believes that by 2020, 75% of smartphone buyers will pay less than $100 for a device.
Emerging markets will fuel growth in the market, contributing to 78% of sales by 2018 Gartner predicts. By the end of the year, the first $35 unsubsidized smartphones are expected to be launched.
The ASP of a basic phone is expected be just $78 and a utility phone will cost an average of $25 by 2018.
The growing ubiquity of mobile devices will mean that smartphones or tablets will become the default means of engaging in all online interactions by 2018 for more than 50% of users, Gartner projects.
“The use pattern that has emerged for nearly all consumers, based on device accessibility, is the smartphone first as a device that is carried when mobile, followed by the tablet that is used for longer sessions, with the PC increasingly reserved for more-complex tasks,” Gartner VP Van Baker said.
“This behavior will adapt to incorporate wearables as they become widely available for users. As voice, gesture and other modalities grow in popularity with consumers, and as content consumption tasks outweigh content creation tasks, this will further move users away from the PC.”