The smartphone has established a billion-euro market in Germany. According to the digital association Bitkom, smartphones will generate a total of 33.3 billion euros this year with data services, apps, infrastructure and devices in Germany.

However, according to figures from market research firm Gartner, the global market for computer phones declined for the first time in the fourth quarter. At 408 million devices, 5.6% fewer devices were sold than in the same period of the previous year. There are two reasons for the decline: Firstly, upgrades from basic cell phones to smartphones had slowed down due to the lack of very affordable, good quality smartphones. In addition, users who are replacing their smartphones are choosing expensive, high-quality models that they keep for longer.

According to Bitkom, data and voice services account for almost 60% of revenues in Germany (EUR 19.7 billion). 10.1 billion euros are generated by manufacturers of end devices, 2 billion euros are spent on network infrastructure and 1.5 billion euros on apps. "Never before in economic history has such a large market been created around a single type of device in such a short space of time," said Bitkom Executive Board member Markus Haas.

According to the association's estimates, sales of smartphones will increase slightly by 1.9% this year, while sales are likely to rise only slightly by 0.1%. The average price of devices is therefore around 426 euros. "The price mix is becoming broader," said Haas. In addition to many inexpensive entry-level and mid-range devices, the leading flagship models will also find customers who are willing to pay significantly more for better features.

The period of use of a smartphone remains short. In a representative survey conducted by Bitkom, every second user stated that they always buy the latest model. Six out of ten have a device that is no more than one year old.

According to calculations by Gartner, Samsung clearly led the list of the largest smartphone providers worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2017 (market share 18.2%), followed by Apple (17.9%) and Huawei (10.9%). Gartner analyst Anshul Gupta estimates that Samsung's new flagship model, the Galaxy S9, which the company plans to unveil at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, should continue to drive the Group's sales figures in the first quarter of 2018. However, only the Chinese providers Huawei and Xiaomi are currently recording good growth.