The changing competitive landscape of the smartphone industry

Abstract

Since the first truly portable phone was released in 1983, mobile phone usage has increased at unprecedented rates around the world. Despite this general industry growth, the smartphone subsector has achieved significantly lower levels of global penetration. As a result, there is a large scope for growth and a significant opportunity for players in the sector to seize in the future. The most widely used and supported smartphone operating systems today are iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry OS, and Bada. The thesis analysed each of these operating systems and examined ways in which their providers could adapt their current strategies to be better positioned to benefit from this upcoming market expansion. In conclusion, potential future scenarios resulting from changing market dynamics were investigated and compared.