How much have high-end smartphone prices gone up?

According to Technology price indexes manufactured by the company Linio in 2016 and 2018, Argentina, Mexico and Peru recorded the largest increase in mobile devices., countries that have experienced variations in their currency, but have not negatively impacted the acceleration of smartphone sales.

In our country, The average dollar increase of a high-end smartphone in two years was 18%, if we take into account an average price of $ 997 in 2016 and $ 1,177 in 2018 .

Chile stays with very similar prices, with an increase of only 4% and Colombia prices seem to have declined, probably due to the incursion of new, cheaper brands through the opening of the market.

With these data, although the forecasts are encouraging for the regional market, Consumers will follow the global trend of postponing the renewal of their device and will pay the high price only when the product is truly innovative. Similarly, according to Linio, promotions and payment facilities will be important aspects of the purchase.

On the other hand, the number of sold units of smartphones globally seems to be reduced; according to Counter Point Research, sales were down 3.8% last year. However, companies generate higher profits, only the premium segment of this market grew by 18%.

Consumers are willing to pay more to renew their smartphones, but technological improvements need to be clear. The top-of-the-line appliance sales are led by Apple, Samsung and Huaweitogether, they represent more than 80% of this market.

Given the trend, Apple begins to diversify; Services now represent the company's second largest source of revenue with more than $ 37 billion billed last year, well above sales of iMac, iPad and other products (AirPod, Apple TV, etc.). To counter the decline in units sold, other manufacturers could follow this path, focusing on streaming services.

• Expansion will continue in Latin America

In a report, the GSMA predicts that in 2025, Latin America will have a smartphone penetration rate of 76%; 66% for the mobile Internet and 74% for the mobile phone subscription. The numbers leave a lot of room for the sale of these gadgets in the years to come, but the new products will have to bring a real added value, because the offer tends to be more and more competitive.

The counter search indicates that Among the most popular brands in the region are Samsung, Motorola and LG, which leave the iPhone with less than 5% market share. With more accessible products, both Xiaomi as Huawei they begin this year with an increase in searches of 60% and 67% respectively compared to the last quarter of 2018; Despite this, "iPhone" is part of the Top 10 most searched keywords in Linio.