New estimates released by Canalys show that in 2017 the world will be distributed 1,500 million smartphones, and more than 1,000 million of them will be governed by Android.
The factors that affect these numbers remarkable growth in terminals located (note, not sold) is due to the fall in prices, which will make smartphones represent 73% of the entire mobile phone industry.
In Canalys also indicate that in North America and in Europe almost all mobile phones will be smartphones, while in China the figure could grow in the coming years, reaching 95% in 2017.
Android, with a market share of 67.1% of smartphones will be the dominant platform. Those more than 1,000 million smartphones distributed in 2017 will provide more than double the 470 million Android smartphones that is estimated will be distributed this year.
Emerging Markets Hurt Apple Share
Although Apple will remain a reference platform, global market share will be reduced and will be reduced to 19.5% in 2012 to 14.1% in 2017. Jessica Kwee, an analyst at Canalys, explained why:
Apple’s growth will be reduced by the fact that the current market trend is aimed at low-end, and Apple is absent in this segment.
And that despite all the rumors point to an upcoming appearance of a mid-range iPhone however cannot compete in the low cost segment in which models like the Nokia Lumia 520 and other terminals below 200 euros are becoming increasingly popular.
No Major Changes for the Rest
The arrival of platforms like Firefox OS, Ubuntu, Tizen or Sailfish OS does not seem to matter in the study of Canalys, which includes “other” platforms in a section that in 2012 had a 5.6% market share in 2017 as only have 1.5% of the global share.
Microsoft and BlackBerry will remain secondary players, but Microsoft platform grow and achieve significantly from 2.4% in 2012 to 12.7% in 2017 according to Canalys data, we believe that products from Nokia, Huawei, and Lenovo and in the low-end ZTE critically contribute to that growth.
BlackBerry will see its share slightly reduced, but according to Canalys “BlackBerry forecast remains positive”, because although its share will remain stable, the number of distributed terminals is doubled.
It seems particularly significant that a consultant Canalys size have not had more attention to alternatives, especially to Firefox OS, especially promising for their agreements with operators, but we will have time to check the development of these options, and probably , to see how Canalys revises its figures.
