Smartphones account for 59% of all spending on consumer electronics in 2018: tech author

Jim Harris, an author and speaker who will apparently be at MWC this year, has compiled a report on personal-electronics spending in 2018. It shows that 59% of the money spent on this sector worldwide was on smartphones. Accordingly, Harris asserts that Android is now the "dominant OS globally", rather than a PC platform such as Windows.

Harris also appears to believe that smartphones will get even more powerful in the future. This is mostly connected to AI in his report, which can already be used to enhance images and interpret speech on mobile devices. This report also states that 46% of all smartwatches will ship with 3G or 4G connectivity in 2019. This could enable them to 'de-couple' from smartphones, and challenge their apparent consumer tech crown in the future.

This report also inevitably moves to 5G and its potential. Harris notes that as much as 1.5 billion devices with the next-gen radio bands could be sold by 2025. He also estimates that 5G could allow a device to download a full movie in less than 4 seconds. Finally, it could also offer 50 times less latency and be up to 90% more energy-efficient compared to 4G.