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Market Trends - Stats

IDC: Bright Outlook for EMEA PC Gaming

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IDC: Bright Outlook for EMEA PC Gaming

EMEA gaming desktop and notebook shipments are down by -1.2% Y-o-Y to 1.9 million units, IDC reports-- but the analyst expects full-year 2019 shipments to reach 8.6m, a 1.5% increase, before growing to 11.1m by end 2023 with a CAGR of 6.8%.

IDC classifies gaming PCs as desktops or notebooks carrying a premium- or performance-grade GPU, including midrange and high-end offerings from Nvidia and AMD. The analyst excludes professional-grade GPUs such as the Quadro or Radeon Pro from the gaming PC definition.

W. Europe sees flat gaming PC results in Q2 2019, as shipments are down by a negligible -0.1% Y-o-Y. "Relatively strong" performance in countries including France and Italy offsets ongoing softness in confidence confidence brought about by political uncertainties such as Brexit. That said, gaming PC demand still outperforms the overall consumer market, and should further pick up in H2 2019 as more games make use of demanding technologies such as ray tracing.

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Gartner: 2019 Device Shipments Down by -3.7%

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Gartner: 2019 Device Shipments Down by -3.7%

According to Gartner, global shipments of devices-- namely PCs, tablets and mobile phones-- will drop by -3.7% in 2019, in good part due to consumers continuing to hold on to old their smartphones, leading to a -3.2% decline in sales.

The analyst estimates the number of mobile phones in use around the world clocks at around 5 billion. The global smartphone market has reached a tipping point, following years of growth, and the lifetimes of premium phones (running on iOS and Android) continues to extend through 2019. The quality and features of such devices has improved "significantly," and has reached a level where users see high value in their devices beyond a 2-year time frame. As a result, consumers will not upgrade unless it will bring about "significant" new utility.

In the meantime, the share of 5G-capable smartphones will increase from 10% in 2020 to 56% in 2023. Major phone vendors are looking to 5G as a replacement booster, but less than 50% of communications service providers (CSPs) will have a commercial 5G network in place over the next 5 years. So far around a dozen of providers offer 5G services in a "handful" of markets, and they need to emphasise the performance features of 5G (such as faster speeds, improved network availability and enhanced security) if they want to encourage the return of smartphone sales growth.

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Gartner: DRAM Prices Down -42.1% in 2019!

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Gartner: DRAM Prices Down -42.1% in 2019!

A demand-driven DRAM oversupply is to push prices down by -42.1% in 2019, Gartner reports-- and the oversupply is set to continue until at least Q2 2020, the result of slower demand recovery by hyperscale vendors and increasing inventory levels.

The result is the end of the longest period of undersupply for the DRAM industry.

The findings come from the Gartner report on the global semiconductor industry, one seeing revenues fall by -9.6% in 2019 to reach $429 billion. This is down from the Q1 2019 forecast of a -3.4% decline.

“The semiconductor market is being impacted by a number of factors. A weaker pricing environment for memory and some other chips types combined with the US-China trade dispute and lower growth in major applications, including smartphones, servers and PCs, is driving the global semiconductor market to its lowest growth since 2009,” Gartner says. “Semiconductor product managers should review production and investment plans to protect themselves from this weaker market.”

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Gartner: Global Device Shipments Down in 2019

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Gartner: Global Device Shipments Down in 2019

According to Gartner, global device-- namely PCs, tablets and mobile phones-- shipments will total 2.2 billion in 2019, a -3.3% decline, with mobile phones recording the worst performance with a -3.8% decline.

“The current mobile phone market of 1.7bn shipments is around 910% below the 1.9 billion shipments reached in 2015,” the analyst says. “If mobile phones don’t provide significant new utility, efficiency or experiences, users won’t upgrade them, and will consequently increase these devices’ life spans.”

The trend of lengthening mobile phone lifespans started in 2018, and will continue through 2019. Gartner says high-end phone lifespans will increase from 2.6 years to around 2.9 years through 2023. In addition, smartphone sales are set to drop by -2.5% in 2019, the worst decline yet.

This year saw the launch of 5G services in Switzerland, Finland and the UK, as well as parts of the UK and S. Korea. However it will take time for carriers to expand 5G coverage beyond major cities, and by 2020 around 7% of global communications service providers will have a commercially viable wireless 5G service. This is "significant" progress from the proofs of concept and commercial network construction work of 2018, Gartner remarks.

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IDC: AR/VR Headsets Return to Growth in Q1

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IDC: AR/VR Headsets Return to Growth in Q1

Global shipments of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) reach 1.3 million in Q1 2019-- a 27.2% Y-o-Y increase, marking a return to growth for the market brought about by a surge of standalone and tethered head mounted displays (HMDs).

VR headsets make 96.6% of the combined Q1 2019 AR/VR market, with strong volumes from top vendors such as Sony, Facebook, HTC, Pico and 3Glasses. The top 5 vendors hold 65.1% of the total VR headset market.

"Facebook has promised to bring VR to the masses and it took its latest steps toward realising this vision with new standalone and tethered headset releases during the quarter," the analyst says. "The company’s new $399 standalone Oculus Quest began shipping this quarter and has enjoyed positive reviews, and its new Rift S offers an updated take on its pioneering tethered headset. These products, along with other new offerings from companies such as HTC and Valve, should position the VR market for solid growth through the rest of the year."

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