The number of smartphone shipments will approach 1.2bn this year, an increase of 19 percent from 985m in 2013, says a new research from Juniper Research.
Also, Average Selling Price (ASP) of a smartphone will decline globally to reach $274 by 2019.
The continued surge in sales in emerging markets and the adoption of low-cost Economy ($75-$150) and Ultra-Economy (sub-$75) smartphones in these regions spur the growth, the agency said.
However, the gap between the growing emerging markets and the stagnant mature markets is closing.
Premium players like Apple and Samsung are facing tough competition from local players in emerging markets. Case studies of companies like Xiaomi prove that aggressive pricing strategy of some Chinese vendors operating in the region has created tough competition in these markets.
According to Juniper Research, the low-price strategy is working for these companies because of their larger economies of scale, which eventually will enable them to expand their offering and challenge other smartphone sectors in the future.
Despite this competition, Apple and Samsung will account for nearly 45 percent of the global smartphones shipped this year, according to Juniper Research.
The market for premium smartphones is abuzz with the latest iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. With its larger 5.5-inch size, iPhone Plus has the potential to change the dynamics of the phablet market, says Juniper Research. Galaxy Note 4 from Samsung, the latest launch to beat Apple iPhones, is making the premium segment aggressive.
Of late, the Google-One initiative is garnering strength as Google has set up numerous partnerships with local vendors for its latest Android One initiative which aims to deliver low-cost smartphones to users.
