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Financial Tower Fax: (632) 884-2399

7th Avenue corner 32nd www.idc.com.my/philippines
Street, Bonifacio Global City
idc.com 1201 Taguig City
Makati City, 1227 Philippines

IDC PRESS RELEASE

The Philippines is Now the Fastest Growing Smartphone Market in
ASEAN, According to IDC
MANILA, June 17th, 2016 - According to International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Asia/Pacific
Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, a total of 3.5 million smartphones were shipped to the Philippines
in 1Q 2016. The growing smartphone adoption among Filipinos and stronger support from telco
operators drive the Philippines smartphone market to a high 20% year-over-year (YoY) growth. This
puts the Philippines as the fastest-growing smartphone market in Southeast Asia to date.

“While many of the more mature smartphone markets of the world already displayed signs of
saturation, the Philippines smartphone market continues to enjoy robust growth owing to a relatively
low smartphone penetration rate (30% in 2015), active local brand presence, and healthy consumer
spending,” says Jerome Dominguez, Market Analyst for Mobile Devices, IDC Philippines.

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Local vendors continue to dominate the Philippines smartphone market as they flood it with the most
affordable smartphone options. Dominguez stresses that, "Smartphones priced below PHP₱3,500
still make up the majority of smartphones shipped to the Philippines. MyPhone’s successful budget
my28S model catapulted its lead in the smartphone market in 1Q 2016. However, this is no reason
for the homegrown brands to rest on their laurels as Global and Chinese vendors are gradually
catching up on the budget segment.” The past few quarters have shown vendors like Samsung and
ASUS playing more aggressively in the lower-than-PHP₱6,000 space. China-based vendors OPPO
and Huawei are also on a steady growth track as they continue to expand channel coverage.

“As the Philippines smartphone market matures and shifts from being an acquisition game to a
replacement one, consumers are expected to demand more from a smartphone in terms of specs
and performance,” says Dominguez. "One sign of the local smartphone market gradually maturing
is the move among entry-level players away from less than 1GB random access memory (RAM)
toward higher RAM chips. From 44% share in 2015, less-than-1GB-RAM smartphones dropped to
38% last quarter as consumer demand for higher RAM for new mobile applications to run smoothly."
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 Unit 1803, 18F Trade and Tel: (632) 889-7061
Financial Tower Fax: (632) 884-2399
7th Avenue corner 32nd www.idc.com.my/philippines
Street, Bonifacio Global City
idc.com 1201 Taguig City
Makati City, 1227 Philippines

With the mobile brand war growing more intense by the day, vendors would be well-advised to not
be complacent, but rather continue to foster innovation and improve product quality and after-sales
to stay ahead of the game. “Defect issues and poor after-sales continue to plague the smartphone
market. It is only a matter of time before majority of Filipino consumers put more premium on
smartphones that are not just easy on the pocket but also offer good value for money,” says
Dominguez.

IDC expects smartphone shipments to the Philippines to grow by 25% this CY 2016. As more
Filipinos adopt smartphones, telco operators should keep an eye out for further network congestion
and adjust accordingly. Jubert Alberto, Country Head of IDC Philippines, says, “Mobile data
explosion is an inevitable consequence of the growing smartphone user base so telcos should carry
on with further expansion of their capacity and footprint nationwide. In terms of increasing
accessibility, it is also not enough for the telcos to provide subsidies to devices manufacturers;
rather, it should also keep in check the price of mobile Internet, which still continues to be among
the most expensive in ASEAN.” As the mobility trend and content consumption on mobile devices
continue to flourish, IDC also predicts that smartphones in the 5in.−5.5in. screen-size band will
continue to dominate this year.

For inquiries on this tracker research, please contact Jubert Daniel Alberto at jalberto@idc.com and
Jerome Dominguez at jdominguez@idc.com. For media inquiries, please contact Trista Efendi at
tefendi@idc.com.

-Ends-

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About IDC

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helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based
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All product and company names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
holders.

For inquiries, please contact:

Jubert Daniel Alberto Jerome Dominguez Trista Efendi

Country Head Market Analyst, Corporate Communications Executive
IDC Philippines IDC Philippines IDC ASEAN
+632-478-7260 ext. 416 +632-478-7260 ext. 425 +60 1139346725
jalberto@idc.com jdominguez@idc.com tefendi@idc.com

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