The Next Big Thing in Consumer Electronics

Each summer and winter, CEA takes stock of the consumer electronics industry via its forecasts. We typically offer the same disclaimer: there are no magic powers at our disposal, but our unique methodology provides us with an effective way to make confident predictions about the future.

In fairness, no one has needed a crystal ball in recent years to ascertain what has been happening in consumer electronics. The one-two punch of smartphones and tablets has been the industry story.

While overall CE sales continue to grow, with total 2012 revenues in excess of $200 billion (a 4.7 percent increase year-over-year),this momentum is largely being driven by the categories producing mobile and connected products. More than 80 million tablets shipped last year, generating $30.8 billion, a 93 percent increase over 2011. Smartphones also showed no signs of stagnation, moving over 111 million units and generating $33 billion, a 21 percent year-over-year increase.