Over 2 Billion Smartphones Will Circulate in 2016

The popularity of smartphones will continue to stair-step until they account for the majority of mobile phones worldwide in 2018, according to a new report from research firm eMarketer.

In 2016, 2.16 billion smartphones will be in use worldwide, marking the first time the devices have crossed the 2 billion milestone. By contrast, 1.3 billion smartphones were in use last year and 1.6 billion this year, according to eMarketer.

Perhaps more significantly, by the end of 2018, 51.7 percent of all mobile phones in use will be smartphones. That will be the first year that smartphones outpace phones sans operating systems.

“Feature phones will have finally become a minority in the telecommunications world, ” eMarketer said Thursday.

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