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...

Worldwide shipments of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) headsets grew to 2.3 million units in 1Q17, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). With more products scheduled to ship in the second half of 2017, IDC is forecasting triple-digit growth for the full year. VR represented more than 98 percent of headsets shipped during the first quarter. Within VR, about two-thirds of all headset shipments were screen-less viewers -- such as Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream View. Tethered VR headsets, such as the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Sony PSVR, accounted for one third of the market. AR and VR Market Development "The VR market is still very young and consumers seem to be taking a cautious approach," said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst at IDC . "With plenty of headset options already in the market and even more coming soon, hardware isn't the issue." According to the IDC assessment, the bigger chall...

Semiconductors are the heart of information technology and telecommunications systems. Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $343.5 billion in 2016 -- that's a 2.6 percent increase from 2015 revenue of $334.9 billion, according to the latest global market study by Gartner. The top 25 semiconductor vendors' combined revenue increased 10.5 percent, a significantly better performance than the overall industry's growth. However, most of the reported growth resulted from vendor merger and acquisition (M&A) activity. Semiconductor Sector Market Development "The semiconductor industry rebounded in 2016, with a weak start to the year, characterized by inventory correction, giving way to strengthening demand and an improving pricing environment in the second half," said James Hines research director at Gartner . Worldwide semiconductor revenue growth was supported by increasing production in many electronic equipment segments, improving NAND flash memory pric...

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...

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...

While a variety of devices have been in development for virtual reality (VR) platforms, the technology has blossomed in recent years due to developments in sensor technologies and the availability of lower-cost solutions -- such as mobile. Today, there are a growing number of diverse industries that stand to benefit from the development of emerging applications -- as an example, from entertainment to medical and military use cases. There will be nearly 60 million smartphone VR headsets shipped in 2021, that's an increase of around 240 percent on an expected 16.8 million this year, according to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research. VR Market Development Trends However, according to the Juniper assessment, the lower price of these devices means they will only account for 7 percent of the total hardware revenue. While millions of consumers are already using VR on smartphone-based devices --such as Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR -- software developer...

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...

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, ...

The mobile video experience is evolving rapidly. Virtual reality (VR) applications gained new momentum at the recent Mobile World Congress (MWC) event in Barcelona, Spain. Mark Zuckerberg spoke about the rising popularity of 360-degree video, and HTC demonstrated new apps for mobile gamers. Given the current growth trajectory in the market, mobile VR device shipments are forecast to reach more than 50 million by 2020 -- that's a CAGR of 84.5 percent, according to the latest study by ABI Research. The introduction of Google Cardboard served as a catalyst for low-cost VR software applications. Moreover, Google has announced that they reached a milestone of 5 million Cardboard shipments this January. Impressive results, since Cardboard was launched at the Google I/0 event in 2014. Emerging Ecosystem of Mobile VR Developers "The VR content ecosystem is opening up to include casual and traditional VR gaming, as well as education experiences," said Sam Rosen, vice presi...

Now the U.S. smartphone market is saturated, quarter-to-quarter changes in market penetration are very small.  Reporting key trends in the U.S. smartphone industry for October 2015,  comScore  released data from their latest market study. Apple ranked as the top smartphone manufacturer with 43.3 percent OEM market share, while Google Android led as the number one smartphone platform with 52.9 percent platform market share. Once again, Facebook ranked as the top individual smartphone software application. Mobile communication apps will continue to be disruptive in the telecom sector -- in particular, market development for the encrypted open-source  Signal  app from Open Whisper Systems will be the one to watch in 2016. Smartphone OEM Market Share 193.9 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones (77.9 percent mobile market penetration) during the three months ending in October -- that's half of one percent increase since the last quarter. Apple ranked a...

Technology industry analysts are reporting that the current trends within the smartphone marketplace are being led by two key phenomena -- more low-cost, high-value product introductions and dominant mobile service providers being forced to react to the disruptive actions of savvy competitors. Vendors shipped a total of 355.2 million smartphones worldwide in the third quarter of 2015 (3Q15), that's up 6.8 percent from the 332.6 million units in 3Q14, marking the second highest quarter of shipments on record, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The 3Q15 shipments were slightly below the previous forecast of 363.8 million units, largely due to lower than expected Apple iPhone shipments, as well as Google Android flagship introductions from several top-tier OEMs. "The vendor landscape and product offerings are really unique at the moment as many markets are seeing consumers become more aware of alternative buying options when it com...

The smartphone market in America has reached a pivotal point, now that most mobile network service providers removed phone subsidies and Apple offers unlocked iPhones directly to consumers (bypassing the U.S. wireless carriers). And, the ongoing use of Facebook Messenger app is negatively impacting the legacy SMS revenue stream. That said, comScore released data from their latest study of key trends in the U.S. smartphone industry for July 2015. Once again, Apple ranked as the top smartphone manufacturer with 44.2 percent OEM market share. Meanwhile, Google Android continues to lead as the number one smartphone OS platform with 51.4 percent market share. Moreover, Facebook ranked as the top individual smartphone software application. Smartphone OEM Market Share 191.4 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones (77.1 percent mobile market penetration) during the three months ending in July. Apple ranked as the top OEM with 44.2 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers (up 1.1...

Historically, the competition within the mobile handset marketplace has been unrelenting. Prior success was never a guarantee of future prospects -- just consider the rise and fall of Motorola, Nokia and BlackBerry. The ongoing battles in the American smartphone arena were indicative of this trend. However, there's been a noteworthy shift in consumer sentiment. U.S. smartphone demand in Q2 2015 dropped steadily and has declined by 8 percent, compared to June 2014, according to the latest market study by Argus Insights. Consumer interest has apparently peaked. What happened? With data compiled from approximately 622,000 consumer reviews since January 2014, their study reveals that despite the introduction of the new flagship phones from Samsung and Apple customer acceptance of the latest iPhones, overall consumer demand and interest has fallen off significantly. "This last quarter showed a very dramatic decline in consumer interest in the available smartphones in the U.S....

Around the globe, demand for access to the mobile internet has positively remained consistent throughout last year. Following a typical year-to-year upward trajectory, the global smartphone and phablet market began 2015 with a boost, compared to the same quarter in 2014. Vendors shipped a total of 336.5 million smartphones worldwide in the first quarter of 2015 (1Q15), that's up by 16.7 percent from the 288.5 million units in 1Q14. In the overall mobile phone market (smartphones plus feature phones), vendors shipped 458.9 million units worldwide, down a mere -0.1% from the 459.3 million units shipped in 1Q14, according to the worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). "The challenge made by Apple for the top spot in the fourth quarter returned to a clear lead for Samsung in the first quarter -- despite the soaring global demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus," said Anthony Scarsella, research manager at IDC . Apple's strong follow-up quarter ...

The media tablet market continues to evolve, as new devices help to shape the growing demand from both new and previous mobile internet users. That said, worldwide tablet shipments recorded a year-over-year decline for the first time since the market's inception in 2010. Overall shipments for tablets and 2-in-1 devices reached 76.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 (4Q14) for -3.2 percent growth, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Although the fourth quarter witnessed a decline in the global market, shipments for the full year 2014 actually increased 4.4 percent -- totaling 229.6 million units overall. "The tablet market is still very top heavy in the sense that it relies mostly on Apple and Samsung to carry the market forward each year," said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst at IDC . Although Apple expanded its iPad lineup by keeping around older models and offering a lower entry price point of $249, it still w...

The personal computing market continues to evolve as new device demand shifts to reflect the ongoing changes in vendor pricing strategy. Case in point: worldwide media tablet shipments fell 12 percent year-on-year to 67 million units in Q4 2014, according to the latest market study by Canalys. The desktop computer market fell back into a decline in the fourth quarter, as demand for Microsoft Windows XP upgrades decreased. Moreover, the notebook PC market held firm with another quarter of just 1 percent growth. Clearly, the overall personal computing market has been somewhat volatile. Given the current market outlook, that's unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. Total PC shipments (desktops, notebooks and tablets) fell by 6 percent in Q4 to reach 148 million units, resulting in full-year 2014 shipments of 528 million units, that's up by just 3 percent on 2013. Apple regained the top spot in the PC market on the strength of holiday sales, with just under 27 millio...

According to the latest global market study by Juniper Research , smartphone shipments reached 316.6 million in the third quarter (Q3) of 2014, representing 13.1 percent y-o-y growth and 5.5 percent q-o-q growth. The biggest gainers of market share this quarter are those capitalizing on expanding Asian markets -- such as Xiaomi, the Chinese ODM. The company sold 19 million new devices in Q3 -- that's a 25.8 percent increase in sales on last quarter. Combined Lenovo-Motorola shipments are estimated to be in excess of 23 million devices this quarter, with Motorola on-track to return to profitability in Lenovo's target of 4 to 6 quarters. Lenovo is now well-positioned to expand into India and other Southeast Asian markets, where the Android-based Moto X and Moto G have a large consumer base, as well as a positive brand presence in the U.S. market. Apple experienced strong growth following the iPhone 6 launch, posting its highest ever Q3 results, representing a 16.2 percent...

The digital health industry, as a concept, can be seen as the intersection of several industries -- the healthcare industry itself, the consumer electronics industry, the mobile industry and the broader IT industry, required for the establishment of EHRs (Electronic Health Records), for example. Though the healthcare sector has been in existence for hundreds of years, it is often accused of being very slow to adapt to the apparent market needs and technology advances outside of the medical profession. However forces acting upon it now, such as the increase in the proportion of the population who are of retirement age, are prompting a rethink as to how healthcare should be addressed. Many initiatives and concepts, such as accountable care, will need a modern digitized infrastructure to succeed. Healthcare focused smartphone interfaces launched by Samsung and Apple will be instrumental in propelling the global healthcare accessory hardware market to $3 billion by 2019, according to...

Apple and Samsung have led the market substantially since the inception of media tablets. However, the race for third place is still undecided and competition is heating up between Lenovo, Amazon, ASUS, and other emerging vendors. The aggressive nature of the media tablet market and substantial increase in emerging vendors has created a stall for leaders in the market giving PC OEMs the opportunity to close the gap between leaders and followers. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, emerging vendors are forecast to experience a CAGR of 22.8 percent between 2014 and 2019. With third place up for grabs, Lenovo is working to gain ground in the market, and in 2019 is expected to ship 21 million tablets, attaining 7.3 percent of the overall market. This forecast momentum and growth would land Lenovo solidly in third place. During 2013, the tablet market exploded with new devices that overwhelmed consumers with a multitude of choices. Leading tablet vendors quickly do...