Gartner today said sales of mobile phones are expected to grow 3.1 percent to 1.9 billion units, while tablet shipment will increase 23.9 percent to 256 million units in 2014.

Smartphone sales will represent 88 percent of global mobile phone sales by 2018 — up from 66 percent in 2014.

Gartner said sales of tablets will increase 23.9 percent to 256 million units in 2014.

Lower demand from users for tablets with smaller screens, some in favor of larger screens, in mature markets, and the shift towards phablets in South-East Asia are slowing global tablet penetration.

“The next wave of adoption will be driven by lower price points rather than superior functionality,” said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner.

Also read: Tablet share forecast by WitsView

WitsView, a research division of TrendForce, says global tablet shipments will grow 5 percent to 205.5 million in 2014.