Digital Lifescapes

The wearable technology sector growth was largely a story about the smartwatch: a premium product anchored around a single wrist, sold at a steep price, and adopted primarily by the health-conscious and the tech-savvy. That narrative is now changing in ways that are genuinely interesting to anyone tracking the intersection of Applied-AI, consumer electronics, digital health, and connectivity infrastructure. The latest worldwide market study by ABI Research offers a timely and data-rich window into just how fast that transformation is unfolding. Wearables Market Development Wearable device shipments are projected to grow from 402.96 million in 2026 to 544.08 million by 2031, as vendors broaden access to advanced health, fitness, and connectivity features at more affordable price points. That is not incremental growth; it represents a meaningful expansion of who is wearing smart technology and why. Equally compelling is the revenue picture: the category is expected to generate $44.22 bil...

The global smartphone market closed 2025 with a story less about recovery and more about transformation. Premium product, ecosystem lock-in, and manufacturing scale are now the forces shaping competition. For business and technology leaders, the latest IDC market study data confirms that smartphones remain a critical indicator of consumer demand, supply chain health, and AI commercialization at the edge. Smartphone Market Development Global smartphone shipments grew 2.3 percent year-over-year in Q4 2025, reaching 336.3 million units and bringing full-year volumes to 1.26 billion units — a modest 1.9 percent annual increase, according to IDC. This smartphone growth emerged despite a memory shortage crisis, tariff volatility, supply chain disruption, and macroeconomic headwinds. What stabilized demand? Two factors: sustained growth in premium devices and strong foldable momentum, combined with accelerated purchases as consumers bought ahead of anticipated price increases. Buyers weren...

The traditional point-of-sale (POS) terminal has traveled a remarkable journey since IBM's first mainframe-connected models emerged in the 1970s. What began as clunky screen interfaces tethered to distant computers has evolved into a diverse ecosystem of payment solutions. Today, we stand at the precipice of the most significant transformation yet: the rise of soft POS technology that promises to democratize digital payments for businesses of all sizes. At its core, this evolution reflects a broader shift from hardware dependency to software flexibility. Global POS Market Development With their dedicated terminals, fixed installations, and substantial upfront costs, traditional POS systems have long served as gatekeepers to in-store or mobile payment acceptance. Small businesses, micro-enterprises, and mobile retailers often found themselves locked out of the digital economy, forced to rely on cash transactions or make significant capital investments in POS hardware. Soft POS techn...

Societal shifts have affected how retail customers shop. The move toward a 'cashless' society was accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to more eCommerce transactions and online spending. Meanwhile, in-store retail Point of Sale (POS) terminals transformed. Traditional hardware-based POS systems evolved into specialized solutions, which provide compact mobile terminals. However, the arrival of software-based 'Soft POS' solutions will disrupt this market. Soft POS Market Development All POS systems process payment transactions by forming a connection between a buyer’s and a seller’s respective bank accounts for the transaction to occur, and actioning the exchange of funds. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the global transaction value processed via Soft POS solutions will reach $11.8 billion by 2028, which is up from $1 billion in 2023. New growth will be driven by Apple’s launch of 'Tap to Pay', coupled with the Soft...

More CEOs in the wholesale and retail sectors have accelerated the adoption of digital business models. As a result, it's now relatively easy for anyone to seek out the best product deals online or on their mobile devices, and purchase whatever they need via eCommerce platforms. This transition has forced many traditional wholesalers and retailers to shift their strategies and increase their digital presence and product availability, with the COVID-19 pandemic bringing the fortunes of those lagging behind into sharp focus. In particular, both traditional and online retailers are under immense pressure to offer improved shopping experiences and to meet growing consumer demand for omnichannel digital payments, while also adhering to evolving financial services sector regulatory requirements. Global eCommerce Market Development That said, the line between physical and digital commerce is becoming increasingly blurred. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research,...

The worldwide media tablet market contracted in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17) with total shipments of 36.2 million -- that's a year-over-year decline of 8.5 percent, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The first quarter contraction marks the tenth straight quarter that tablets have experienced a decline over the same quarter a year earlier, with the previous five quarters recording double-digit drops. Meanwhile, the market for Google Chromebooks continues to rise, and phablets continue to gain market share. Media Tablet Market Development The tablet market is comprised of two different product categories. Devices offering a keyboard, which IDC refers to as detachable tablets, continue to grow. The other product category is slate tablets (those lacking this keyboard option), which saw shipments peak in 2014 and is now in a steep decline. "As far as most are aware, the tablet market was created in 2010 with the launch of the o...

Mobile payment service app adoption is on the rise. According to the latest worldwide market study by IHS Markit, 3.4 billion smartphones will be ready for Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google's Android Pay by the end of 2017 -- that will increase to 5.3 billion devices by 2021. Moreover, 11 percent of active smartphones globally will be compatible with Apple Pay; 61 percent with Android Pay; and three percent with Samsung Pay (which overlaps with Android Pay that's also available on Samsung smartphones). Mobile Payments Market Development "To reach these smartphones, Apple, Samsung and Google must strategically expand mobile payments services and build partnerships with banks and financial institutions," said Ruomeng Wang, analyst at IHS Markit . By the end of the first quarter of 2017, Apple had launched Apply Pay in 15 international markets, Samsung had rolled out Samsung Pay in 14 markets, and Android Pay was available in 10 markets. IHS Markit analysts bel...

Worldwide smartphone shipments will rebound in 2017, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). While growth is expected to be consistent, IDC predicts shipment volumes to grow by 4.2 percent in 2017 and 4.4 percent in 2018 -- with a CAGR of 3.8 percent over the 2016-2021 forecast period. Furthermore, smartphone shipments are forecast to reach 1.53 billion units in 2017, and eventually grow to 1.77 billion units by 2021. From a platform perspective, IDC doesn't expect much change throughout the forecast with Google Android accounting for roughly 85 percent of all smartphone shipments, and Apple iOS making up the rest. That said, the outlook for Microsoft-based smartphones remains grim, given the lack of OEM partner support. Smartphone Market Developmen t Although IDC anticipates that Google Android growth will gradually decline, they do not yet see a point where shipments will contract year-over-year, given the demand for new features such...

The major players in the smartphone ecosystem are driving growth with value-added services. The emergence of several high profile mobile payment service offerings has provided the sector with much needed new growth opportunities. Apple, Samsung and Google have all expanded their mobile wallet range across the globe: by the end of 2016, the services were available in 13, 8 and 9 markets respectively. Between the three vendors, they have rapidly scaled their active mobile wallet user base -- which had reached an estimated 74 million by the end of 2016. Global spend via mobile wallets is expected to rise by nearly 32 percent in 2017 to $1.35 trillion, according to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research. Mobile Wallet Market Development The study found that spend is currently concentrated in the Far East & China, due primarily to the success of mobile services such as Alipay and WeChat. However, Juniper analysts believe that moves by PayPal and Apple to of...

When smartphones are combined with cloud services, the converged capabilities are truly remarkable. And, cognitive computing and machine learning are enabling a new era of communication. By 2019, 20 percent of all user interactions with a smartphone will take place via virtual personal assistants (VPAs), according to the latest market study by Gartner. Gartner's annual mobile applications survey found that 42 percent of respondents in the U.S. and 32 percent in the UK used VPAs on their smartphones in the last three months. More than 37 percent of respondents (average across U.S. and UK) used a VPA at least one or more times a day. "The role of interactions will intensify through the growing popularity of VPAs among smartphone users and conversations made with smart machines," said Annette Zimmermann, research director at Gartner . Personal Assistant Market Development Apple 'Siri' and Google 'Now' are currently the most widely used VPAs on smartph...

Payments on smartphones via the mobile internet will boost global online retailers. The entry of OS-Pay (Apple Pay and Android Pay) to the market is likely to play an important role in retailer business strategy, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research. Moreover, with biometric authentication becoming more common as a means of avoiding password or PIN entry, purchase friction can be further reduced. New findings from the Juniper study indicate that the value of digital and physical goods purchased through mobile 'OS-Pay' platforms will increase by fifteen times in the next two years. A combination of in-app purchases and website retail payments is projected to drive worldwide annual spend via Apple Pay and Android Pay to $8 billion in 2018 -- that's up from just $540 million this year. Simple Transactions Key to Mobile Success Their study also found that the integration of OS-Pay into North American eRetail apps will be welcomed by software devel...

Some consumer electronics (CE) manufacturers have learned from mistakes of the past. Maybe it was the flashing '12:00' on VCR clocks, or the TV remote controls with 40 near-identical tiny buttons, designers knew we needed better ways to program and control the everyday devices that we use. Now, on a growing number of CE devices, we can simply use our voice to perform routine tasks. While Apple Siri and Google Now are well-established smartphone features, it's in the emerging smart home that voice control systems will discover their full potential. Smart TVs, smart refrigerators, smart plugs, and many more devices will extend the reach and simplicity of managing the smart home environment using our voice. CE Voice Control Market Development With ABI Research forecasting more than 120 million voice-enabled devices to ship annually by 2021, voice control -- which combines speech recognition and natural language processing -- is becoming the key user interface within th...

If you thought that the upside potential for FinTech growth -- and the likelihood of a big disturbance within the banking industry status-quo -- was limited to North American and Western European markets, then you would be mistaken. This very significant intrusion is truly a global phenomena. New research has uncovered data that suggests the FinTech sector in Africa is now poised for exponential and rapid growth that will challenge existing financial services providers, despite the fact that it's in the early stages of adoption relative to the rest of the world. According to a worldwide market study by Frost & Sullivan, the FinTech industry in Africa may experience a similar disruption seen in Australia -- a country with financial services development comparable to South Africa. African FinTech Market Development Outlook A case in point: the financial sector in Australia is set to take $10 billion in revenues away from the big Australian banks and contribute $3 billion ...

When a consumer electronics vendor launches a new product category they are often uncertain about the overall market demand. While early-adopters may adopt the new device relatively quickly, the mainstream user market is far less likely to be interested or motivated to buy. Sometimes the leading vendor in a category will abruptly reach market saturation, as a key indicator of the future outlook. For the first time, the worldwide smart watch market saw a year-over-year decline of 32 percent, according to the latest global market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Smartwatch vendors shipped 3.5 million units in the second quarter of 2016 (2Q16), which was down substantially from the 5.1 million shipped a year ago. Apple held the top rank by shipping 1.6 million watches. However, it was the only vendor among the top five to experience an annual decline in shipments. Smartwatch Market Development Challenges The year-over-year comparison is to the initial launch quart...

The world now contains 8.1 billion connected smartphones, media tablets, personal computers, televisions, TV-attached devices and various audio devices. On average, across the whole globe, this Internet-connected device installed base now equates to about four devices per household. "The proliferation of media-enabled connected endpoints has implications for media consumption, media production, broadband infrastructure, and the business itself of network management and traffic discrimination," said Merrick Kingston, principal analyst at IHS . Smartphones have already contributed about half a billion new devices to the market each year. Media tablet adoption has also grown rapidly. But that overall growth is not spread evenly. Case in point: by the end of 2020, the forecast smartphone-to-tablet ratio will rise to nearly 10:1, according to the latest worldwide market study by IHS. Gains for Mainstream Market Development The IHS study also noted the big changes in the...

As more people around the globe discover that they don't need a personal computer (PC) to participate in the Global Networked Economy, the market for smartphones and phablets has satisfied the demand for internet access and web browsing. This is now the pervasive trend worldwide. Besides, the ongoing adoption of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) apps meant that mainstream users learned what has become common knowledge -- just about anything you need to accomplish can be done in the cloud. The impact of this disruptive trend on traditional PC manufacturers has been devastating. "The global PC market had a bad start to 2016 and it is difficult to see any bright spots for vendors in the coming quarters. The tablet boom has faded in the distance and the market is fully mature. Global shipments declines are expected to continue unless vendors bring some remarkable new innovation to the market," said Tim Coulling, senior analyst at Canalys . Market Declines Dominate the PC Lan...

Seasonality combined with disinterested customers led to an annual decline of 14.7 percent in worldwide tablet shipments during the first quarter of 2016 (1Q16). Global shipments of tablets reached 39.6 million, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Slate tablets continued their decline while still accounting for 87.6 percent of all shipments. More importantly, the slate tablet segment has become synonymous with prices at the low-end of the market. While this may bode well for vendors like Amazon that rely on hardware sales to increase their overall ecosystem size, it has not helped other leading vendors who rely solely on greater margins for hardware sales. Ongoing Gains for Detachable Tablets Meanwhile, detachables experienced triple-digit year-over-year growth on shipments of more than 4.9 million units, an all-time high in the first quarter of a calendar year. But that performance won't result in a celebration. Many challenges rem...

According to the latest global market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), vendors shipped a total of 334.9 million smartphones worldwide during the first quarter of 2016 (1Q16) -- that's up slightly from the 334.3 million units in 1Q15, marking the smallest year-over-year growth on record. The minimal growth in this quarter is primarily attributed to strong smartphone saturation in developed markets, as well as a year-over-year decline from both Apple and Samsung, the two market leaders. The biggest change to the market, however, was the addition of lesser-known Chinese brands OPPO and vivo, which pushed out previous fourth and fifth place players Lenovo and Xiaomi, respectively. Market Development in China Matures As the China market matures, the appetite for smartphones has slowed dramatically as the explosion of uptake has passed its peak. In 2013, China's year-over-year shipment growth was 62.5 percent; by 2015, it had dropped to 2.5 percent. Conversely, ...

Wearable devices and their associated software applications are destined for increased adoption. Part of an emerging market of apps within the Internet of Things (IoT), these devices will generate significant amounts of user data that will further fuel an expansion of the mobile cloud phenomena. Worldwide shipments of wearable devices will reach 110 million by the end of 2016 -- that's a 38.2 percent growth over 2015 market performance. An expanding lineup of vendors combined with consumer demand will generate double-digit growth, culminating in shipments of 237.1 million wearable devices in 2020, according to the latest worldwide study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The rapidly evolving market will also be driven forward by the proliferation of new and different wearable products. Watch and wristband growth will reach a combined total of 100 million shipments in 2016 -- that's up from 72.2 million in 2015. Other form factors -- such as clothing, eyewear, and he...

In developed markets, people who want a smartphone have one. And, the majority don't crave the new models. Demand for new devices still comes from the emerging markets that have yet to reach saturation. According to the latest global market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), 2015 will therefore likely be the last year of double-digit growth. IDC reports that 1.44 billion smartphone were shipped worldwide in 2015, that's up by 10.4 percent over 2014. IDC forecasts 2016 shipments of 1.5 billion, or 5.7 percent growth over 2015. The trend of single-digit year-over-year growth is forecast with volumes growing to 1.92 billion in 2020. Moreover, the global smartphone market will continue to see volumes shifting to the low-end, with the aggregate market average selling price (ASP) dropping from $295 in 2015 to $237 in 2020. Mature markets such as the United States, China, and Western Europe have already reached single digit growth in 2015. Meanwhile, markets such as ...