Not all of the Android lovers within the community are able to upgrade as often as they like, and many are on what is considered a “mid-range” smartphone. A mid-range device is usually a device that was a high-end device 2 or 3 years ago, or is truly just “mid-range” meaning it doesn’t have the best hardware and software, but it isn’t the worst either.
According to a research study conducted last year by Informa, 85% of smartphones that were sold in the U.S. were priced at $250 or higher. They also concluded that this number will change drastically by the year 2017. What they are claiming is that 50% of the smartphone popluation will be mid-range devices while top-end devices will “dwindle to 33%.”
How did they figure such statistics? They were able to put out some trends to back up their reports. They provide us with 4 huge trends that are becoming seemingly popular, which will put mid-range devices on top come 2017. They are:
- Switching from “expensive monthly plans” to cheaper plans or even prepaid plans.
- Business models will switch leaving only two specific choices: the innovator and the follower.
- Manufacturers will feel the price crunch and reduce product lines to just a few a year instead of several.
- Samsung and Apple continue to dominate the market.
We all love Samsung when it comes to Android lovers, and Apple lovers love their iOS, however I for one, can say that neither company’s products are cheap, and most devices cost a hefty price that doesn’t seem to drop with the passing years. I’m not saying they don’t make good products because they certainly do, but production has “shifted back to the US” and this will cause manufacturing costs to go up, and their profit margins to go down.
Informa says year 2017 will mark the year to be either high-end devices, or cheap “mid-range” devices which will split the market and only giving consumers two options. Basically you can either go big, or you can go home. With carriers like Verizon having such high priced plans, more and more customers are cancelling out and going to the smaller, CHEAPER plan mobile providers. Being a Verizon Wireless customer myself, I can see this idea becoming more and more realistic as I pay more and more for my device plan, and soon with the coming years I will need to add another line eventually.
What do Android Headlines readers think? Do you think the mobile industry will become split like Informa claims making mid-range devices the top contender, or is it just another silly analyst report?
Sources: Android Authority