They may look ridiculous, but phablets and superphones — mini tablets and extra-large phones — have a bright future, according to research released today by Transparency Market Research.
According to a new market report, "Phablets and Superphones Market — Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth and Forecast, 2012 — 2018," the global phablets and superphones market is expected to reach $116.4 billion by 2018, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 44.1% from 2012 to 2018. The number of units of the devices is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25.8% from 2012 to 2018, and reach 825 million by 2018. North America has been leading the global market in terms of volume as well as revenue, due to the increasing penetration of smartphones in the region. However, Asia Pacific is expected to be the largest and fastest growing market for phablets and superphones by 2018 in terms of volume sales and revenue, especially in China, India, and Korea.
Initially, mobile phones were used for traditional purposes such as messaging and making calls; however, with the passage of time and technological advancements, it became possible to use them as a handheld personal computer, the research firm points out. "Growing usage of mobile phones for different purposes such as viewing images and videos, accessing the Internet, and gaming, among others, resulted in the need for devices with larger display size and superior quality. This encouraged smartphone manufacturers to develop superphones and phablets, which are essentially smartphones with larger screen sizes," the firm says in its press release.
Phablets accounted for a little over 12% value share of the overall phablets and superphones market in 2012. By 2018, superphones are expected to lose some share to phablets, but are forecasted to continue to dominate the global market with an expected volume share of around 70%.
Google's Android operating system is the most widely used platform globally. Around 21 million Android-based phablet devices were sold in 2012, and the count is expected to exceed 150 million units by 2018. Superphones have been the largest market for the Android operating system. Over 150 million Android superphones were sold in 2012, which is expected to reach 400 million units by 2018. The market for Windows based phablets is expected to grow at a significant rate, with an expected CAGR of 58.8% from 2012 to 2018, which can be primarily attributed to the introduction of new Windows based phablets by manufacturers such as Nokia, HTC, Sony, and ZTE among others.
Samsung is the market leader in the phablets and superphones industry, and accounted for 70% of the overall market in 2012. Other players include LG, HTC, Google, and Dell.
