According to IDC the W. European mobile phone market fails to grow in 2014, making for a 2nd consecutive year of shipment declines-- a clear sign of saturation as overall 2014 shipments drop by -5.2% to 174.1 million units.
The feature phone segment is worst hit, with shipments dropping by 39% to 28.4m units and revenues worth $1.4 billion. IDC describes feature phones as nothing less than a niche segment, one representing just 16% of 2014 shipments and 2.2% of total market value.
Meanwhile smartphone shipments reach 145.8m units with 6.4% growth. The category makes 84% of overall 2014 mobile shipments, and is worth $62.4bn, a 1.7% increase over 2013.
"Although the total market was impacted by higher penetration rates, the smartphone segment hit a record high in 2014 in terms of units shipped and market value," the analyst says. "Seven out of ten people in W. Europe now have a smartphone. The success of the new iPhones 6 and 6 Plus, the increasing popularity of phablets and the explosion of devices priced under $150, were the biggest contributors to this growth.”
IDC says phablets make 10% of 2014 W. European smartphone shipments, with shipments growing by 174% to 14.3m despite higher ASPs ($699, compared to the average smartphone ASP of $428). Samsung, Apple and LG account for 80% of phablet shipments.
When it comes to operating systems the market is clearly divided between Android, iOS and Windows Phone, and as a result OS alternatives risk W. European extinction. Android dominates, but faces challenges in the high-end by iOS and Windows Phone in the low-end. IDC also says iOS should grow in 2015 thanks to new iPhone momentum, while Windows Phone should continue to grow in the enterprise segment thanks to integration with Microsoft solutions.