Mobile phones, the kind that do nothing but make phone calls, used to cost several thousands of dollars. Thanks to the relentless pace of technological innovation, Nokia can sell you a device that’ll let you ring anyone in the world for just $20.
The same thing is happening to smartphones. Whereas before you had to shell out an incredible sum of money to be able to say you can check your email on the go, now you don’t have to spend more than $200 to $300 to get a decent smartphone experience.
According to the analysts over at ABI Research, low end smartphones are devices that cost less than $250. They say 259 million of them will ship this year, and that last year they made up 28% of the smartphone market. In half a decade (2018), that number will rise to 46%.
High end smartphone shipments on the other hand, they’ll hit 925 million units in 2018 compared to 635 million units in 2013. The market for expensive ($400) phones hasn’t exactly peaked, but it’s definitely not growing as fast as it once did.
Think of all this another way. The Samsung Galaxy S II, arguably the most iconic Samsung smartphone, will turn two years old in a week or two. You can buy one now, brand new, for half the launch price, probably even less. Would you call the GS2 a “low end” device? When compared to today’s phones, absolutely, but to someone upgrading from a $15 Nokia, the GS2 is magical.
