Report: Global smartphone sales top 1.2bn in 2014
Over 1.2 billion smartphones were sold across the globe in 2014, new research has revealed.
Analysts at GfK have published a new report detailing the 23 per cent rise in units sold compared to fiscal year 2013.
What’s more, 2014 saw an incredible $381.1 billion worth of smartphones sold, up on 2013’s $330 billion.
The fourth quarter is usually particularly successful, largely thanks to Christmas, and last year was no different.
The revenue created by global smartphone sales in Q4 amounted to some $115 billion for the quarter alone, rising 20 per cent above the previous year’s figure. The number of units sold also increased by 19 per cent.
The analysts put this down to year-on-year growth across every region on the planet, with Latin America singled out as the fastest growing region for smartphones.
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China is also tipped to remain in its lead position as the biggest market – that’s in terms of both unit sales and revenue created – ‘for the foreseeable future’.
Kevin Walsh, GfK’s Director of Trends and Forecasting, said: “The increase in the value of units sold in China, despite the recent plateauing of unit sales, is
He is referring to the fact that Apple entered the Chinese market proper last year with the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
The smartphone broke sales, revenue, and profit records across the globe, with a huge chunk of sales attributed to the eastern nation.