There is no denying that the smartphone has become a necessity, but the truth is that the handheld device still remains an aspirational product largely in the Indian hinterland. Affordability and lack of technological know-how play a deterrent in the mass adoption of smartphones in rural areas.
Today, the cost-effective and data-efficient 4G technology has penetrated Indian villages but mobile users are still happy to use 2G-capable feature phones. Smartphone manufacturers haven’t been able to woo users to make the switch.
According to Counterpoint Research, 200 million 4G feature phones will be sold in India in next five years. Globally, more than 400 million feature phones were sold in 2016 and smartphone market growth slowed down 3 percent (YoY) — an indicator that smartphones segment growth may not be as it has been in the past.
“On one end, we are seeing rising growth of advanced 4G networks, 4G smartphones and data-centric 4G users but on the other end we have 2G voice networks, 2G feature phones and 2G voice-centric users delaying to upgrade to a 4G smartphone,” according to the market researcher. Therefore, voice and text — the playground for feature phones — may still remain the king.
Nostalgia or smartphones — why did Nokia 3310 steal the show at MWC 2017?
At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, last month, Nokia grabbed eyeballs with the relaunch of Nokia 3310 — a feature phone that was phased out in 2005. The Nokia 3310 was indubitably the star attraction, ahead of several smartphones, wearables and other gadgetry on display at the tech extravaganza.
Nostalgia apart, the launch raises another question — will handset manufacturers revert to feature phones amid smartphone growth slowdown?
Smartphones are not revolutionary in nature anymore. Every smartphone that you buy is primarily an upgrade — a better camera or a processor, longer battery life and the features list goes on. Your new palm buddy would essentially do the same job that your previous phone did — calls, texts, apps and photos.
Also, increasingly it is becoming difficult to distinguish between smartphones. The likes of Xiaomi, Lenovo, Motorola, Samsung, HTC and Apple pretty much offer the same set of specifications in their handsets. They even look alike!
Mobile-plus Technologies
In the recent past, the change in the mobile landscape has brought augmented reality, virtual reality and wearables. All of them are an extension of smartphones and not a revolution. Gimmicks such as Apple’s AirPods can only drum up interest and will fail miserably in terms of applicability.
Tech biggies such as Google and Microsoft have transcended that smartphone arena. They are working on technologies and products — such as voice recognition — that make a smartphone more usable. Again, such technologies are more software-driven rather than smartphone-driven.
Not that feature phones pose a threat to smartphones, but the smartphone industry needs to come out the stagnation it is going through.
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