Today's Edition
YOUSEF AL ARABI (ABU DHABI)
UAE markets saw imports of approximately 3.92 million mobile phones in the first nine months of 2023, at a value of Dh6.6 billion, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC), a market data firm specialised in information and communications technology research.
In statements to Aletihad, IDC said that around a quarter of the world’s mobile phone shipments (around 16.7 million units) were received in UAE in the first nine months of 2023, transiting from manufacturers around the globe to distributors in Gulf countries.
Shipments of around 3.68 million smartphones were received by authorised UAE distributors in the same time period, valued at Dh6.5 billion, in addition to 236,000 traditional mobile phones, at a value of Dh15 million.
The average price of a smartphone in the UAE during the first nine months of 2023 reached approximately Dh1772 per device, while the average price of a traditional mobile phone was Dh66.
Dr. Ramadan Yavuz, Senior Research Director at IDC, told Aletihad that mobile phones supporting fifth-generation (5G) networks in the UAE witnessed an increase in market penetration, especially with the introduction of more mid-range and luxury models compared to 2022.
According to Yavuz, sellers are focusing on mid-range and high-end devices to achieve profitability, as there are better specifications in these models, including 5G.
Smartphones accounted for 96% of the total shipments of mobile phones to the UAE in the first nine months of 2023, compared to only 4% for traditional phones, he added.
