Smart feature phones to rake $28b revenue, 370m sales by 2021- Research

Ladesope Ladelokun

The cumulative revenue of the mobile industry is expected to hit $28 billion in the next three years as 370 million smart feature phones are expected to be sold across the world, research by Counterpoint Research has revealed. This, according to the research, will introduce an entirely untapped customer base to high-speed Internet, apps and services and in doing so, open a whole host of new business and revenue opportunities for the entire mobile value chain. In the report, software and services will account for almost 71 per cent of the revenue opportunity with untapped customer base playing a key role in the years ahead. According to Tarun Patrak, Associate Director of Counterpoint Research, the global smart feature phone demand grew 252 per cent year-on-year in 2018- albeit from a low base contributing roughly 16 per cent of the total feature phone volumes. Feature phones like Jio phone, Nokia 3310 4G, Nokia 8110 4G and others have not only gained popularity in India for their low cost, their ability to connect to the internet and the presence of a software like KaiOs, which features Apps such as WhatsApp, YouTube, Google Maps and more have made feature phones penetrated the UK, United States, South East Asia and Africa markets because the software allows users to perform tasks that were only available on Smartphone. Industry experts have, however, predicted a boom in the smart feature phone industry in the days ahead, noting that network operators will benefit from this as more users get connected to the 4G spectrum. Also, carriers providing connectivity services are expected to generate $15 billion in revenue by 2021.