Intelligent terminal production volume up 16%

The production volume of intelligent terminals including PCs, tablets and smartphones, reached 510 million units in China in 2014, seeing 16.2 percent year-on-year growth, according to a report released on Tuesday by technology consultancy agency IDC.

PC production volume totaled 61.02 million units, a decline of 5.5 percent year-on-year, while tablet output rose 7.5 percent compared with 2013 to 27.86 million units, and that of smartphones jumped by 20.9 percent to 420 million units.

It is estimated that the production volume of intelligent terminals will amount to 540 million units, with relatively slower growth.

"2014 marks a year of convergence for intelligent terminal products in China. Unprecedented and drastic changes are taking place with the penetration of digital products in second- and third -tier cities, and more diversified distribution channels", said Mu Chen, a senior analyst at IDC.

Despite slower growth across China in 2015, different regional markets, products and distribution channels are expected to encounter new challenges and trends.

It is predicted that PC sales will recover in first- to third -tier cities. With Microsoft's launch of Windows 10, a compatible version on all intelligent terminals, more computer manufacturers will equip their new products with Windows 10. This will give institutional and individual consumers a great opportunity to replace their old PCs.

Meanwhile as the smartphone market is almost saturated, the smartphone market will gradually shift to fourth- to sixth-tier cities, with single-digit growth in production volumes in 2015.

With the popularity of Phablets, large smartphones similar to the size of tablets, their affordable price poses a huge challenge to the sales of tablets in lower-tier cities.

Regional differences will continue to exist with distinctive convergent trends of intelligent terminal products and different advantages in distribution channels in different tier cities.

As urbanization is speeding up in the west, it is predicted that smartphone volume in western China will exceed 80 million. The volume of intelligent terminals in Central China is expected to maintain double-digit growth. The market in North China will enter the phase of a "new normal", a period of stable growth.

The tablet market in South China will maintain its momentum with a production volume of more than 6 million units, with the grwoth rate in the volume of commercial tables in East China being the highest across the country.