China Expected To Overtake US As Largest Smartphone Market

A new year, a new change. Just days after China celebrates their Chinese New Year (the year of the snake), reports from Flurry are saying that China is expected to overtake the United States in the world’s largest smartphone market.

As of right now, Flurry is reports that both China and the United States had an active install base of 221 million to 222 million in January. But this month, the research firm is saying that China is expected to have 16 million more active smartphones than the United States, with 246 million active devices.

Although this may sound like big news in the mobile industry, it is actually expected. While the United States has 310 million people in the country, China has more and a billion people in the country. With most of the growth over there has been driven by the rapidly increasing middle class. Since the start of 2011, the amount of smartphones in the country has been steadily increasing, while the United States has seen multiple spikes in the active devices (most likely due to a new iPhone being released).

It is possible that there is some collaboration with a bump in active smartphones and the celebration of the country’s New Year. As many people in the country only have Chinese New Year off to see their friends and family, many are buying smartphones to their friends and family that cannot easily get one. As the country’s middle class are rapidly expanding, many more people in China are able to afford premium devices.