U.S. smartphone shipments will rise 10% this year to 154 million units, with $73 billion of sales, a 15% jump, said CTA on Thursday. More than 106 million 5G smartphones are expected to ship, up 530%. Audiobooks and podcasts are driving audio sales growth of 18% to $10 billion. Video streaming will rise 15% to $43 billion. Demand for technology is forecast to lift retail tech sales 7.5% to a record $487 billion. The pandemic “strengthened consumers’ relationship with technology,” said CTA CEO Gary Shapiro.
Rakuten met with acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to tout the company’s 5G platform as lower cost and more secure than other systems, said a filing posted Wednesday in FCC docket 21-63. Participants included Rakuten CEO Mickey Mikitani, his North America counterpart Amit Patel and Salt Point Strategies' David Redl, an ex-NTIA head. Rakuten reported similar meetings with Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington (see here and here).
Ring began an end-to-end encryption feature for eligible devices worldwide, blogged Chief Technology Officer Josh Roth Tuesday: It's the first major home security provider to offer this.
U.S. importers sourced 14.19 million smartphones in May, up 13% from May 2020, per Census data we accessed Sunday through the International Trade Commission. Unlike downward pricing trends in notebook PCs and tablets, average smartphone customs value suggested an upmarket shift due to the increasing mix of 5G-enabled handsets. The average smartphone import was worth $275.95, up 15%. China shipped 11.08 million handsets here, up 12% and costing $284.08 on average, an 11% gain. Vietnamese devices soared 31% to $218.43, gaining 2.1 points of share to 2.36 million handsets.
Emerald expects 20% fewer CEDIA Expo exhibitors than 2019 due to people’s “comfort levels for in-person events,” a spokesperson emailed Wednesday. The trade show company hopes for about 300 exhibitors Sept. 1-3 in Indianapolis, she said. Last year’s expo, scheduled for Denver, was canceled. Feedback has been positive among exhibitors, attendees and media who registered for the coming show, the spokesperson said. They're "excited to get back to business," she said. Emerald updated its health and safety plan for the gathering, said a Tuesday email. A seven-question survey focused on willingness to attend trade events, what people miss about going and how far they’re willing to travel to such events. For other conferences' safety precautions, see our report here. Our calendar of events is at communicationsdaily.com/calendar.
Global chip industry sales were $43.6 billion in May, up 26.2% year on year and 4.1% up from April, reported the Semiconductor Industry Association Tuesday. Demand remained high across major regional markets, said SIA President John Neuffer. “The industry shipped more units on a three-month moving basis in May than during any previous month in the market’s history.” Neuffer said production has ramped up significantly to address rising demand.
Maryland TV stations broadcasting with NextGenTV are WMAR-TV (ABC), WBAL-TV (NBC), WBFF (Fox) and WNUV (CW), all Baltimore, and WMPT Annapolis and WMPB Baltimore (Maryland Public Television/MPT), they said Thursday. Antenna viewers can get instructions at fcc.gov/rescan on rescans.
Personal IoT devices for tracking children, the elderly and pets will soon “enter the mainstream,” reaching an installed base of 68 million units in 2026 from 16 million this year, reported ABI Research Thursday. Safety is the most significant demand driver for consumer tracking devices, said analyst Harriet Sumnall. She estimates the market for IoT devices to track the elderly will expand at a 42% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2026, when North America will have the largest installed base at 15 million. Devices for tracking children reside in smartwatches like the Verizon GizmoWatch and tracking tags like the Apple AirTag. The segment is projected to have a 30.4% CAGR through 2026.
Amid antitrust and other scrutiny, Amazon touted Prime customers spending $1.9 billion on more than 70 million small business' products over the two-day Prime Day that wrapped up Tuesday. Small- and medium-sized firms that sold on Amazon grew revenue 100%, said the platform Wednesday. The $11 billion industrywide e-commerce spending during the event suggested a “pent up demand for online shopping as consumers look forward to a return to normalcy,” emailed Adobe Digital Insights Director Taylor Schreiner. Also Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee marked up legislation targeting tech companies including Amazon (see 2106230063).
The first day of Amazon’s 48-hour Prime Day sales event spurred total U.S. e-commerce of $5.6 billion, up 8.7% over day one of Prime Day 2020 in October, Adobe Analytics emailed Tuesday. Sales were above Thanksgiving Day totals last year, which were under budget at $5.1 billion. 2020 Cyber Monday holds the e-commerce record at $10.8 billion.