Smartphone use forecast to beat feature phones in 2016

Smartphone use will outstrip that of more basic feature phones for the first time in 2016 as people increasingly rely on mobile devices for their Internet connection. But both will be quickly dwarfed by connections in the so-called “Internet of things” in the next few years, according to new research from Ericsson, the Swedish telecoms group.

Ericsson predicts that the sensors, appliances and machines linked to the Internet of things will overtake mobile phones as the largest category of connected device by 2018. Close to 16 billion of the 28 billion devices connected by 2021 will be in Internet of things (IoT), the company estimates, with a growing range of uses from enabling smart cities, cars and homes to mobile healthcare and diagnostics. The number of IoT devices is projected to grow 400 per cent by 2021 in western Europe alone, driven by regulatory requirements for smart utility meters and growing demand for connected cars. Rima Qureshi, chief strategy officer at Ericsson, said the development of 5G networks from 2020 would provide capabilities critical for IoT.