“Analysts reckon that the number of smartphones sold in 2018 will be slightly lower than in 2017, the industry’s first ever annual decline,” The Economist writes. “That smartphone sales have peaked, and seem to be levelling off at around 1.4bn units a year, is good news for humanity.”
“Yes, they can be used for wasting time and spreading disinformation. But the good far outweighs the bad. They might be the most effective tool of development in existence,” The Economist writes. “The slowdown does not reflect disenchantment; quite the contrary. It is the result of market saturation.”
“That hits Apple the hardest because, despite a relatively small market share (13% of smartphone users), it captures almost all of the industry’s profits. But Apple’s pain is humanity’s gain,” The Economist writes. “The fact that the benefits of these magical devices are now so widely distributed is something to be celebrated… for the rest of humanity it is a welcome sign that a transformative technology has become almost universal.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: A computer in every pocket; one better than the others.
Computers are like a bicycle for the mind. ― Steve Jobs
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Apple’s revolutionary iPhone continues to own the premium smartphone market – December 31, 2018
There is also “feature saturation”.
I can’t get over the comments I read here and there that new iPhones are boring, there is no more innovation etc. whatever. Seriously, what more do people expect from these pocket computers ? They already do so much and have incredible features and technology in them. There isn’t going to be a breakthrough in battery that’s going double or triple battery life, at least not soon.
I find my new iPhone 8 to be a great upgrade from my 6s. But wait, it looks the same, smells the same, tastes the same, how can it be better? Obviously (for techies) like any computer upgrade its a lot faster and that’s the most important factor IMO. Aside from that the 8 has a few more bells and whistles, a better camera and I doubled the storage, at no upfront cost to me.
No one complains when this years Mac looks like last years Mac or the one from 5 years ago. They are thrilled about how much faster they are, how much more RAM and storage etc. and how they can do more with it compared to their old computer. Why aren’t new iPhone releases seen the same way ? Or maybe they are and the folks I am reading about are more the exception. They are trolls, Wall Street investors, or they prefer the competition ? Or maybe they actually need to try the new one to realize it is a great new phone, even if it looks the same.
“Computers are like a bicycle for the mind.” ― Steve Jobs
Which is why they should never be censored! Hypocrite!