APAC device shipments to grow 3.2% in 2015

Combined shipments of computers, tablets and laptops in the APAC region will grow 3.2% in 2015 to 1.2 billion units, despite high market saturation in the region, Gartner predicts.

The PC market will grow slightly to 104.4 million unit shipments as growing sales of premium ultramobile devices compensate for declining traditional desktop and laptop sales.

But the bulk of expected device shipment growth will be stimulated by a 4.1% increase in the mobile phone market, driven by low-cost smartphones stimulating replacement sales, especially in emerging markets.

Chinese handset vendors are seeking to expand in emerging markets to compensate for looming market saturation in China, but local currency depreciation against the US dollar is deterring them from pushing down smartphone prices to reach wider segments, Gartner said.

By contrast, shipments of tablets and other non-premium ultramobile devices are expected to decline 7.3% to 62.8 million units.

“Device penetration is very high in Asia Pacific - at or beyond saturation point in mature markets and major cities in the emerging markets,” Gartner Principal Analyst Lillian Tay said.

“Market saturation, along with consumers extending the lifetime of their tablets, has caused a recalibration in the growth trajectory in the market. From 2016, we expect the tablet market to resume growth from a stabilised base.”

Image courtesy of miniyo73 under CC