Over the next five years, smartphone adoption in Asia Pacific will nearly double — from 1 billion unique users in 2014 to 2 billion users in 2019 — representing 83% of the region’s total unique mobile subscribers. According to Forrester’s Asia Pacific mobile and smartphone forecast, last year marked the first time more people in Asia Pacific used smartphones than feature phones, and by 2019, at least 75% of the mobile subscribers in 13 of 15 Asia Pacific markets will own a smartphone.

According to the forecast, this growth will be largely driven by rapid device adoption across all age groups, not just Millennials, and the hypercompetition among smartphone manufacturers such as the global giants like Apple, LG, and Samsung, as well as regional players like Gionee, Meizu, Micromax, OnePlus, Vivo, and Xiaomi who have inundated the region with affordable smartphones.

Forrester’s forecast shows that in 2019, Pakistan will be the only country in the region with a smartphone penetration below 70%, with the remaining markets falling into one of two groups:

  • Saturated markets (more than 90% mobile subscribers and smartphone penetration exceeding 100%) — Australia, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.
  • Growth markets (unique smartphone penetration between 70% and 90%) — India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Learn more about the research here.