India set to surpass US as second largest smartphone market
The United States is second only behind China when it comes to smartphone sales, with an estimated 220 million people in the United States owning smartphones. North America (yes that includes Canada and Mexico) shipped around 177.3 million units in 2014, but by 2019 India is expected to surpass the United States as the second-largest smartphone market in the world.
China will maintain its leadership as the top market for smartphone sales, while other emerging markets like Brazil are expected to grow. It’s pretty easy to see how emerging markets have affected the global landscape of smartphone sales over the last few years, with both developed and undeveloped Asia-Pacific countries growing significantly between 2013-2016.
Lenovo has been aware of the emerging markets in India and other Asia-Pacific countries, which is why this is one of the slides that was found at the Moto Z2 Play presentation a few days ago.
An expected 127 million units shipped to just India is more than Brazil, Japan, and Indonesian markets combined and shows exactly why India is becoming such a titan in mobile sales. What does that mean for us as US customers? Well, not much. Samsung, LG, Xiaomi, Oppo, and other brands will compete more heavily to make waves in the new emerging market, which could mean some interesting budget options for those who don’t mind importing phones.
[via Statista]