Philippine smartphone growth fastest in Southeast Asia with a staggering 326% increase in sales!

1 out of 4 Filipinos now own a smartphone (Image Credits: Shutterstock)

The Philippines is now considered as the fastest-growing market for smartphones in Southeast Asia, with a staggering 326% increase in smartphone sales over the last 12 months. According to Singapore-based research firm GfK, the country recorded the highest jump in smartphone market share among its neighboring countries in the region, growing from 9 to 24 percent.

The growth in the country was significantly higher than the 78% growth posted in Southeast Asia's seven major markets, namely the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

"Feature phones still reign as the more prevalent mobile phone type used by consumers in the region's emerging markets," GfK digital technology account director Gerard Tan said in a statement. "However, smartphones adoption is escalating at a rapid pace."

In July this year, GfK reported that one of four Filipinos own a smartphone, driven by the increasing affordability of smartphone devices across the country. A separate GfK report revealed that Filipino consumers bought five times as many smartphones in the first five months of this year compared to a year ago, bringing smartphone sales to almost 1.7 million units as of May this year.

"With major manufacturers announcing their intentions to launch low-end smartphones priced below $100, smartphones will be within the reach of an even larger pool of consumers and the market is expected to grow even faster when these models are made widely available," Tan said.

In a separate report by research firm IHS, smartphones are expected to rise to account for the majority of global cellphone shipments in 2013, two years earlier than previously predicted. IHS revealed that smartphones will become the dominant mobile devices in terms of unit shipments, where smartphone shipments in 2013 are forecast to account for 54 percent of the total cellphone market. The year 2013 will mark the first time that smartphones will make up more than half of all cellphone shipments.