Global growth rate of devices to grow by 6.9 percent in 2014: Survey

The global growth rate of mobile devices is reportedly predicted to grow by 6.9 percent in 2014, a survey has revealed.

According to Gartner, in 2014, tablets will grow to 270 million units, up from 195 million in 2013, while smartphones will increase slightly to 1.895 billion, stopping short of two billion by the end of 2015.

The Gartner survey showed that PCs (both desktop and laptops) will continue to slide from 296 million in 2013 to 263 million in 2015, News 24 reported.

Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner said that tablet substitution of notebooks will start to dissipate from this year onward as consumers and businesses align the right device with the right usage pattern.

Annette Zimmermann, principal research analyst at Gartner said that while the lack of compelling hardware innovation marginally extended replacement cycles in 2013, they have witnessed an upgrade path in the emerging markets.

Zimmermann added that Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, Asia/Pacific and Eastern Europe have all upgraded their phones, which will help to compensate for mature market weakness in the near term.