Smartphone shipments in the Taiwan market are expected to total 8-8.5 million units in 2015, equaling the amount shipped a year earlier, according to an estimate by sources from local retail channels.

Due to a high penetration rate of smartphones in the local market, the sources are also conservative about the sales outlook for the coming year, expecting total smartphone shipments to continue to stay flat in 2016.

However, the government's recently introduced stimulus measures which include the offering a subsidy of NT$2,000 (US$61) to encourage current 2G users to subscribe to 4G services may help push up smartphone sales in 2016, commented the sources.

Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), the largest mobile operator in terms of total mobile subscribers, still has a total of over one million 2G subscribers, the sources noted, adding that the number of 2G subscribers at other mobile operators ranges from 200,000-300,000.

The stimulus measures took effective on November 7 and will last to February 29, 2016.