On average, the price of PCs and phones will go up by 2 percent this year. The calculations are based on U.S. dollars and average market sizes. The prices will go up largely due to the rising prices of components.
Also, more users are upgrading to more expensive and feature-rich mobile
handsets.
This year is expected to big for smartphones. Samsung has launched the
Galaxy S8 smartphones, and Apple is expected to launch its 10th
anniversary iPhone later this year. Premium-priced smartphones will go
up by roughly 4 percent.
A good barometer for mobile phone pricing is the Chinese market. Global
pricing of Chinese branded smartphones will go up to RMB 2,000 (US$290)
by the end of this year from RMB 1,700 (US$246) at the end of last year.
The PC market has slowed down, and it is driven now by high-priced
gaming PCs and 2-in-1s. Buyers of those PCs are willing to spend more
money on their computers. Low-end laptops and desktops will remain available, but PC makers like
Dell and HP are slimming down those offerings. Low-cost laptops like
Chromebooks typically have aging components, little storage,
low-resolution webcams, and limited memory.
Gartner estimates 426 million computing devices, including PCs and
tablets, will ship this year, dropping from 439 million last year. PC
shipments will total 265 million this year, dropping from 270 million
last year. Shipment of tablet devices like the iPad will total 161
million, dropping from 169 million last year, the analyst group
predicted.
