See how affordable smartphones are winning the war for consumers' hearts here: http://www.amgoo.com/blog/how-affordable-smartphones-are-winning-the-war-for-consumers-hearts 2014 has been a year of awakening for many of the biggest players in the global smartphone market with the likes of Samsung looking to cut their product line by as much as 30% in the new year. Locked in battle with Apple in the high end market, the real fight is trying to fend off the advances of affordable smartphones from Chinese mobile manufacturers such as AMGOO, ZTE and Xiaomi. This change in strategy and tightening of their 'belt' is seen as a move to improve their dismal profits over the last few quarters and help them to regain some of their former glory, but as more and more Chinese OEMs flood the market with cheap smartphones the competition going in to 2015 is set to be stiffer than ever! Low price plus high specs means a win According to IDC, the average smartphone selling price in 2014 is about $241 worldwide, but in emerging markets like India prices are averaging $135. “The impact of upstart Chinese players in the global market will be reflected in a race to the bottom when it comes to price, IDC Senior Research Manager Melissa Chau said in a statement. The prices of smartphones dropping significantly around the world not only makes the possibility of owning a smartphone economically viable for the unconnected in emerging markets, but it is also making these handsets more attractive to consumers that originally bought into contracts of more expensive models for their high end specs. Melissa Chau also stated that while premium phones weren't going anywhere, the world is seeing increasingly better specs in more affordable smartphones. This means that consumers no longer have to go with a top-of-the-line handset to guarantee decent hardware quality or experience.