New findings from ABI research indicate that shipments of smartphones with a price less than $250 will grow from 259 million in 2013 to 788 million in 2018.

Growth in developing markets may be the primary force behind this jump in growth, as people in those markets continue to adopt smartphones as their method for phone communication. Shipments of upper cost smartphones can even keep growing, although at roughly half the speed: mid-range smartphones (between $250-$400) and high cost smartphones ($400+) are expected to grow from 635 million in 2013 to 925 million in 2018. 

“As the feature phone segment continues to lose its battle for relevance, the low-cost smartphone has become the tool for operators looking to drive increased data revenues,” said Michal Morgan, senior analyst for ABI research. “The growth of smartphones in pre-paid and emerging markets may be the primary driver of low-cost smartphone growth. Developed and subsidized markets also are finding that low-cost smartphones can capture the remainder consumers which have yet to transform to a smartphone while minimizing the margin impacts stemming from subsidizing high-cost smartphones.”