Gartner: number of personal devices set to boom

Analyst predicts people will not consolidate devices such as wearables, phones and tablets, but instead add to their tally

People are set to own even more personal devices, ensuring the market continues to buck the trend despite its maturity, Gartner has claimed.

The analyst predicted that by 2018, the average person will use and own more than three personal devices at a time, including wearables, phones, tablets and PCs.

By next year the installed base of devices will reach 7.8 billion units, but by 2018 this will have grown to 8.3 billion units, Gartner said.

Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner, said: "The combination of the high level of adoption of technology, the availability of faster networks, and decision making becoming increasingly dependent on real-time information will undoubtedly lead to more devices per user."

The firm said devices will be a mix of "main" and "niche", such as smartphones, tablets, two-in-ones and notebooks in the main category, and smartwatches, health bands, smart glasses and connected devices in the niche category.

Gartner also made three bold predictions for the years ahead.

Firstly by 2018, at least one non-traditional phone maker will be among the top five smartphone brands in China; secondly that by 2019, 20 per cent of personal devices will record emotions and wearables will reach 1.1 billion units by the same time; and finally by 2019, one third of PC users will use speech or gestures to issue commands.