Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) will emerge as a key marketing point in the smartphone industry next year, with the world’s leading handset manufacturers scrambling to add more AI functions to their upcoming flagship devices.

The move comes as big data technology, allowing devices to make human-like predictions, has been identified as a core feature for a paradigm shift in the global handset market which has stagnated in recent years.

The weak growth has been attributed to toughened rivalry among existing players and a slowdown in terms of technological innovations from industry-leading handset makers ― such as Samsung Electronics and Apple ― according to observers.

According to market researcher Gartner, the smartphone market has reached 90 per cent penetration in key global markets this year - including the United States, Europe and Japan ― where lifecycles for premium handsets are extended to 2.5 years on average. The trend will prolong over the next five years, added the firm.