Smartphones will account for two out of every three mobile connections globally by 2020, according to a new report by GSMA Intelligence.<\/p>\n
In the study, titled Smartphone forecasts and assumptions 2007-2020, the group found that smartphones account for one in three mobile connections today, representing more than two billion mobile connections.<\/p>\n
This figure will grow three-fold over the next six years, according to the GSMA, reaching six billion by 2020 – accounting for two-thirds of the nine billion mobile connections by that time.<\/p>\n
Basic phones, feature phones, and data terminals such as tablets, dongles, and routers will account for the remaining connections. The study excluded M2M from the connections totals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe smartphone has sparked a wave of global innovation that has brought new services to millions and efficiencies to businesses of every type,\u201d said Hyunmi Yang, Chief Strategy Officer at the GSMA.<\/p>\n
\u201cSmartphones will be the driving force of mobile industry growth over the next six years, with one billion new smartphone connections expected over the next 18 months alone.”<\/p>\n
According to the GSMA, there are over 7.1 billion mobile connections in the world, across over 3.6 billion unique mobile subscribers.<\/p>\n
South Africa is considered to be a “Fast Grower” market, with 4 operators and 70.4 million mobile connections.<\/p>\n
Notably, the GSMA reports that\u00a0the developing world\u00a0accounts for two in every three smartphones on the planet – far outnumbering connections in the developed world.<\/p>\n
The GSMA predicts that by 2020, four out of every five smartphone connections worldwide will come from the developing world.<\/p>\n
The Asia-Pacific region accounts for about half of all global smartphone connections, even though smartphone penetration in the region is currently calculated at below 40%.<\/p>\n
The Asia Pacific total is boosted by the inclusion of China, the world\u2019s largest smartphone market, with more than 692 million smartphone connections.<\/p>\n
#<\/strong><\/td>\n| Country<\/strong><\/td>\n | Smartphone connections (millions) | \n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 1<\/td>\n | China<\/td>\n | 692.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 2<\/td>\n | USA<\/td>\n | 196.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 3<\/td>\n | Brazil<\/td>\n | 141.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 4<\/td>\n | India<\/td>\n | 111.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 5<\/td>\n | Indonesia<\/td>\n | 95.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 6<\/td>\n | Russia<\/td>\n | 83.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 7<\/td>\n | Japan<\/td>\n | 66.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 8<\/td>\n | Germany<\/td>\n | 48.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 9<\/td>\n | UK<\/td>\n | 45.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 10<\/td>\n | France<\/td>\n | 43.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n | More on smartphones<\/h3>\nSmartphone kill-switch to combat theft<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Acer launches triple-SIM smartphone<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Lenovo income soars on smartphone push<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n |