Camera industry is still decreasing with 24% drop in 2018

hmm What if they make a camera, with a sensor (no matter what size) that behaves differently from the smartphone’s camera sensor? Like, for a starter, a camera ready to shoot infrared (instead of letting the user pick-up his camera and convert it him/herself to shoot full spectrum).
The thing about the specs is true. My camera is 9 years old now and I purchased a second-hand camera similar to it just to convert it for infrared shooting and I’m just used to it by now. The only thing that makes me think of moving to a larger sensor is the noise factor, sometimes.
But also there is some awareness to be spread, which probably affect the camera DSLRs market indirectly (or even directly, not sure here):
1. Spreading art-awareness among the public. Smartphones (if they are the major factor here) still have smaller sensors and the quality even in higher MP resolution is not the same with DSLRs sensors resolution. This, in return, affects the printing later on and other things related to the physical world. Encouraging galleries and arts with good prints, I think, is essential here.

2. Like with the oil prices which dropped down drastically, this was caused by the overwhelming amounts of offered quantities. DSLR companies should not flood the market with cameras that barely have anything different between them in specs. Either make a huge jump in some technology or focus on developing other venues in the industry beside the DSLR lines (but not necessarily master it as I’ll mention later in No.3). This flooding in fact might even have made people take the decision to stick to the smartphones for doing “serious” photography rather than getting a DSLR. As a local saying here goes (to baffle a man, give him many choices) – Do not flood the market with choices.

3. That “war” between different brands is quite unnecessary (pardon me, my mentality is not economical here). But it’s like each brand or DSLR company is spreading itself quite thin, trying to develop something and keeping its foot in something else as well, trying to master both; Mirrorless cameras as an example. Just focus on a goal and head to it. Stop the chess game with other brands to conquer new markets or overwhelm a specific market to get some brands out of it.

4. I think the act of buying a used a camera is one of the factors as well, and I’m not sure if people leading the industry are considering this option. But to my experience, many people right now are really up to buying a used camera rather than a new one, specially if it was offered by a friend or someone they trust in general. This is common too for people who want to switch brands and they don’t want to start heavy but commonly think of starting with a used camera to decide later if they wanna continue using this brand or not.

5. In relation to No.1 above, you might be surprised to the number of people nowadays who still think of photography as a “click of a button” – this sector of the audience (well, if I call them an audience) need also to change their views about photography and from there they would know the troubles that a photographer goes through to take one serious photo in any field, and how this cannot be compared to a snap on a smartphone.

Just humble ideas from what I’ve experienced personally here.

Relatively speaking it’s taken a while, but camera technology has plateaued.
My day to day camera in the studio is a 5D2.
I don’t need the low light, I don’t need a million focus points and when it dies I’ll buy another 2nd hand one for £300.

I agree with the analysis. Why bring a compact camera when your phone is good enough for internet pics, and you can directly upload. I also agree that there is not a lot of reason to upgrade, unless there is a feature that will improve your work. As far as lenses, they would slow with the decreased sales, but not as fast as the cameras, since current users are still buying lenses. They may be upgrading in quality, or buying specialty lenses for the “new” kind of photography they are working on. Hopefully the market maintains levels that will support enough manufacturers to keep them competing and innovating.