Smartphones on path to dominance in Aussie market

Australia has one of the highest penetrations of smartphones in the world, with 73 percent of the population aged between 15 and 65 owning a smart device. This figure is expected to rise to 93 percent by 2018, when it is expected virtually all phones will be smart devices.

The finding is contained in a new report, Australian Mobile Device Usage Trends 2013 from industry analysts Frost & Sullivan.

The report has also found tablet penetration in Australia is high by global standards, with 49 percent of households having a tablet device in 2013. This number will hit 80 percent in 2018, and tablet growth is expected to outpace smartphone growth in the intervening period.

Over the top applications, such as WhatsApp are also expected to increase in popularity, with their usage outstripping the use of traditional SMS-based text communication.

 "Accessing social networking along with searching for jobs, houses to rent and cars to buy will continue to increase in popularity of the next few years. Booking travel and accommodation through mobile devices, laptops and PC's is gaining popularity with nearly 60 percent of consumers doing this at least once every six months," said Frost & Sullivan senior research manager, Australia and New Zealand, Phil Harpur.

The rise of portable smart devices is also expected to increase the shift away from physical music formats towards downloading, and latterly, streaming over fast 4G networks, he said.

“Eventually, cloud streaming formats will dominate as a subscription model enabling access to a full library of music,” he said.

Android is expected to increase its dominance of the mobile market, with Apple being the loser. Apple’s market share is expected to decrease to around 30 percent by 2018, although its dominance in the tablet market is expected to last longer. Apple’s share of the tablet market has declined from 69 percent to 60 percent over the last twelve months.

Apple’s share of the profits of the mobile industry is expected to remain high, however, as its market share is split between a relatively small number of devices. The Android market, while larger, is fragmented among a broader pool of players, each with a smaller profit share of the handheld market.

The profit bright spot for Android is expected to remain with Samsung, which has achieved a high level of market penetration with its flagship Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets.