The global smartphone market remained stable. Even though the smartphone segment is expected to increase its sales share over a 5-year period, the total number of mobile phone shipments will remain stable at two billion. This forecast has been a favorite topic among analysts for some time now, so it shouldn't come as a shock and it's unlikely there will be many tears shed across the industry if multibillion-dollar corporate profit margins like Apple are slightly degraded. Worldwide, smartphone makers manufactured 334.9 million handsets in the first quarter of 2016, according to market research firm IDC. This represents a meager 0.2 percent increase from the same period last year, the lowest year-on-year growth on record. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay This clearly implies that the era of insane smartphone growth is over. Now Apple, which has always seemed unstoppable, saw its iPhone sales fall 16% year-over-year last quarter. This is the first time since the iPhone's debut in 2007 that this has happened. Factoring in, the iPhone generated $32 billion in revenue last quarter, but even Apple is feeling the new normal. The reasons are many, but the most important is this: everyone who wants a smartphone has one, and the phones they buy are so bad. It's nice that they don't need to upgrade as often. Sellers now have a better idea of ​​their position and the fight for market share will become more difficult. Samsung, which sold 81.9 million smartphones last quarter, more than the next two companies (Apple and Huawei) combined, according to an IDC report. Along with stagnant sales, rising component prices could also add to the misery of smartphone makers, although this is more likely to impact smaller players. CCS expects component prices to rise in the second half of last year due to shortages of displays, camera modules and memory. The fault here lies with the big players who are greedily gobbling up available production, while the recent earthquakes in Taiwan have disrupted production. “This is the first time we have seen component prices rise in years,” said Marina Koytcheva, director of forecasting at CCS Insight. “Phone makers with low volumes will find it almost impossible to make a profit under these conditions without raising the prices of their products.” Samsung continues to dominate the market simply because the South Korean company offers a wide range of choices - essentially, a phone for everyone, from entry level to super premium. This allows it to target both emerging and established markets. Like the case: The high-end Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge "sold vigorously" in March, IDC reports, while the company's J series attracted budget-conscious buyers and first-time buyers. Apple tried a similar strategy by introducing the smaller and relatively cheaper iPhone SE, which is essentially an iPhone 6S in an iPhone 5s body, which could have expanded its product line to appeal to people on a budget and could have helped Apple increase its profits in mature markets. although this plan did not work out well. It's not at all surprising that China is the largest smartphone market in the world. Yet here too, growth has stagnated. According to.