Smartphone Landscape in 2015 India

India witnessed some real action in the smartphone category in 2014 and is considered as the fastest growing smartphone market in Asia Pacific. The Q3 (July to September) observed a market share growth of 27 percent due to affordable pricing and the smartphone

figures touched a number of 23.3 million units. The trend will continue for the next year and it is expected that the global smartphone sales will further rise by 13-15%.

Expect smartphones with fold-able displays

Samsung showcased a Note 4 variant with a curved display this year and it is expected that the Korean giant is going to bring some interesting smartphones with curved and foldable display technology in 2015.

The technology will have some positive impacts on smartphone usage. Curved or foldable displays offer better visibility of content

because they tend to cause less reflection of light, which in turn leads to better colour contrast and accuracy for reading or watching videos.

This also means less consumption of battery as a display with better viewing angles requires less brightness. The technology can also

enhance portability as foldable display will turn a 10 inch tablet into a regular 5 inch device for a convenient fit in your pocket.

The company might opt for a 25-30 percent cut in its mobile device portfolio to implement some innovative ideas to attract consumers, as the smartphone market is just going through a specification war, where innovation has been pushed to the back seat.

We can also see some metallic smartphones from Samsung and the

next year’s flagship model Galaxy S6. LG launched its curved flagship - G Flex which was high on price and innovation and we might see an upgraded version - the G Flex 2 for the masses in the first quarter of 2015.

Charging time for batteries will reduce by 75%

Smartphones in 2015 will be equipped with such technology that will cut the charging time of batteries by up-to 75% and will make them last up-to a week. A California based company is already working towards improving the battery efficiency of the smartphones through hardware and software enhancements.

One example that we have seen in 2014 is the Oppo Find 7 which gets charged from 0% to 75% battery life in just 30 minutes, which is significantly less as compared to other competitors.

Flagship smartphone wars will more intense

Sony is expected to bring the successor of its flagship model Z3 and 5 affordable smartphones that will be powered by MediaTek chipsets and will compete with the domestic smartphone manufacturers such as Micromax, Lava, Spice, etc.

The HTC One M8 has failed to impress the camera enthusiasts

with its updated 4 MP Ultrapixel technology. So, we expect HTC will come out with some definite improvements in the technology that it implemented in HTC One M7. Similarly, the much praised LG G3 with its laser autofocus camera will see a successor (LG G4) with improved set of optics and faster processing power.

New entrants will continue to keep established players on their toes

Asus has successfully captured a large segment of the market withits Zenfone series which is affordable yet feature rich. It is expected to showcase Zenfone 2 series in January 2015 at CES. The new series will be powered by the new

Intel chips that will come with 4G capabilities. However, by launching the first 4G device in under Rs 10,000, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has already won the first bet. Xiaomi will also launch its much anticipated flagship smartphone Mi4 in the first half of 2015.

The domestic players will

continue to grow

Domestic players such as Micromax, Spice and karbonn

will also introduce their share of smartphones and will continue

to maintain a large share of the market. Micromax will go one step

ahead and bring some affordable 4G LTE devices powered by

Snapdragon 210 chipsets.

2015 will see the second installment of Android One devices ranging

from Rs. 6,000-12,000, as Google is expected to invest more than

Rs. 100 crores in collaboration with the three Indian mobile  manufacturers on advertising and marketing under its ‘Android One’ initiative.

The attention seekers of 2015

Interestingly, the biggest chipset maker Qualcomm will also venture in the smartphone market and is expected to bring the super phone of 2015. The possible specifications such as Snapdragon 810 chipset, a whopping 4GB RAM, 6 inch Quad- HD display and a 3100mAh battery will be enough to outshine possibly all other counterparts.

Google’s much talked Project ‘Ara’ will also uncover its first Modular smartphone that can bring a new change in the smartphone technology with its upgradable hardware parts.

This attempt can open the gates for a whole new market of removable hardware modules that can make your smartphoneready to fight with their successors in a cost effective manner.

In terms of innovation, some smartphones in 2015 will

integrate 3D Hologram technology that will make them project 3D images and videos on large screens. Ostendo, a California based startup is working on the technology termed as Quantum Photonic Imager to produce hologram projector chips for

the future smartphones.