Date: 25/11/2020

Low-cost to drive 5G smartphone market

The smartphone manufacturers as well as smartphone chipset manufacturers may have to continue to compete with each other on the basis of cost per chip/unit along with performance. Market researcher ABI estimates more than 60% of 5G mobile phones to be shipped in 2022 to cost less than US$ 600.

Companies to develop smartphones on such a way that, they are affordable and also available in different versions, that's going to be driving growth of 5G after 2021.

As 5G experience spreads, creates a market demand in such a way that, it becomes a need to buy 5G smart phone. That makes cost of the phone important deciding factor for those who have difficulty in affording.

ABI says "This seismic shift to lower price tiers will result in over 60% of the 549.3 million 5G smartphones shipped in 2022 will be priced below US$600 forecasts global tech market advisory firm".

This will indirectly drive component makers and other chipset makers to compete tightly on the cost factor.

"These lower prices will be underpinned by cheaper components and the continuing availability of more affordable 5G chipset platforms, notably those from Qualcomm, MediaTek, and UNISOC. Conversely, with the expected frantic pace of plunging 5G smartphone prices, it means 5G at the high-end will be squeezed, witnessing rapid saturation while collapsing potential increases in revenue and margins,” says David McQueen, 5G Smartphones, Devices, and Wearables Research Director at ABI Research.

Shipments of connected notebooks will grow to 21.5 million by 2025 at a CAGR of 46%, with a 97% share connected to 5G." highlights ABI in a whitepaper it has published on this subject.

ABI finds "the notebook and mobile value chains are on the edge of converging with shipments of “always-on” notebooks expected to grow significantly. This harmonization will be brought about by positioning 5G connectivity as a central pillar in the design of notebooks and PCs, with a focus on long battery life, thin and light designs, offering always-on, always-connected experiences."

“Such a move has been sparked by a shift to ARM-based chips that not only brings deep integration between software and hardware, harnessing innovation and connectivity that has been nurtured for years in smartphones, but also gains inefficiencies and better battery life without sacrificing performance,” says McQueen. Companies such as Qualcomm, Intel, MediaTek, Samsung, Huawei, and Apple are all at the forefront of pursuing this strategy, with many connected notebook models expected to appear starting in 2022, notes ABI.