The impact that coronavirus has had on the world is truly shocking. It has robbed families of loved ones, disrupted global economies and generated tremendous levels of fear and anxiety. It has most certainly affected the global mobile device industry. Since the virus emanated in China, Chinese production lines for electronic devices have been significantly disrupted – factories and retail stores have closed while authorities work fast to stem its spread.

Customers are hanging onto their phones longer than ever, with the average consumer now waiting about 3 years before trading in their phones. What this means is that when a user finally does trade in their phone, it's hard drive potentially contains more information than ever – information that could be used to steal customer identities or commit other data crimes. Smartphone trade-ins might be a valuable source of revenue, but how can carrier, retailers and OEMs protect customer privacy?

5G is now a commercial reality in many countries around the world. We are also at a global tipping point – the number of 5G devices being purchased and activated is set to accelerate dramatically. Ericsson predicted that 13 million 5G devices would have been shipped by the end of 2019 – and will increase to a staggering 160 million units by the end of 2020.

Increasingly, your workforce cannot get their jobs done without mobile devices. Retail workers use mobile devices to check inventory in stores or check out customers at the front desk. Rideshare drivers use apps to track their mileage and get directions. Workers all over the country use their mobile devices to work remotely. Given that so many workers rely on mobile devices for their jobs, shouldn’t they have the best devices available?

Each quarter, we publish insights into the most-traded devices, which devices have the highest trade-in values, how old devices are when they’re returned, the amount of money returned to consumers through trade-in programs, and more. The Q4 2019 data can be reviewed here and shows this past quarter to be the strongest quarter of the year.

It’s difficult to understand how many smartphones are purchased online versus how many are purchased in brick-and-mortar stores. However, it’s easy to infer based on two other statistics. First, global demand for smartphones is slowing, and secondly, retail and electronics sales have also shown a sharp decline as of October 2019.

Over the last couple of years, CES has been a central hub for all-things 5G. The hype has been building for years and as we approach CES 2020, you can be sure that there will be no shortage of 5G news once again.

The holiday season truly is the most wonderful time of the year for the mobile device industry. During the holiday shopping season, consumers are more likely to upgrade to the latest smartphone models—and carriers, OEMs, and retailers are right there with creative promotions to make it easier.

The cost of a flagship mobile device is creeping slowly upwards. First, phone contracts changed – the apparent price of a flagship phone went from $200 USD to around $600. Then, people started hanging on to their new phones for longer – demand went down. On average, people used to get a new phone every 2 years or so, but the average jumped to 3.04 years this past quarter and will continue to rise. 

The first smartphones began coming out back in 2007, over 10 years ago. The first people who bought smartphones then were generally in their 20s or 30s – but now a new generation is buying the first phones of their own. They have a different set of tastes and values, as well as a generally different income level. Are any of these people willing or able to purchase a brand-new iPhone 11 for over $1000 USD?