Feature phones still have a good life in wholesale cell phone market

Undoubtedly, this era belongs to smartphones and tablets. The mobile computing has reached to a great extent and is constantly moving towards new advancements. Every other day, a new smartphone or tablet is introduced in the market with advance features to make our life easier and simpler. It has become a significant part of our everyday life. There is no single day when we can live without a smartphone.

In comparison to smartphones, it seems that feature phones have become old school stuff and smartphones have reached miles ahead of them. However, the facts say something else.

According to a recent study conducted by Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and Kantar IMRB, 85% of feature phone users do not intend to switch to smartphones in their next purchase. Feature phone still comprise of 55% of total handset shipments in India. So, these facts have busted all the myths about the feature phone market in India. Despite the wide range of smartphones available in the market, there are some functional benefits that are making quintessential feature phone an attractive buy. In fact, a study says that 75% of feature phone users are from upper SEC- middle class section of society unlike the popular belief that only rural population uses these phones.

When the smartphones were introduced in the market, it was expected that these phones would eat away feature phone market right away. However, the transition did not occur at expected pace due to some shortcomings in smartphones such as vernacular language support, unsatisfactory battery life in entry-level smartphones. There are 90 brands that sell feature phones in India. Out of this Indian feature phone manufacturing contributes around 57% of total shipments.

So, why India still prefers feature phones?

In India, where the proliferation of handsets depends on users’ demands, handset companies are looking forward to launch new feature phones handsets. This is because of the some coveted factors mentioned here.

As India is a price sensitive market, people in tier II, tier III and rural areas tend to have a very cautious behavior. Affordability and socio-economic behavior of the people can be responsible for it. People have less knowledge and awareness about the latest technology.

For majority of people, the basic need for a phone till date is to make phone calls and take calls. Thus, the rate of migration from feature phones to smartphones remained very slow.

Feature phones are simple and easy to handle and operate. Simplicity of feature phones matters a lot and for some people it is the most important thing.

Feature phones are highly durable and last for a long time. This makes them a perfect choice for price sensitive buyers.

With the introduction of smartphones, feature phones were considered as dumb phones, which meant to be sold as packaged bulk phone orders. However, in the wholesale cell phone market, feature phone manufacturing in India and other countries is interestingly being going ahead and these phones seem to have a good future. Let’s know why.

Feature phones are an ideal solution for the wholesale cell phones in the entry-level market. The big players like Samsung, Google, and Apple are busy in high-end market vying customers with deep pockets. However, folks with tight pockets have very specific needs from their phones. A consumer can easily find a lot of affordable bulk phones that meet all their requirements without overpaying for the features they do not need.

These wholesale feature phones are getting new and advance features while keeping the costs down. Today’s feature phones are not just for calling and receiving calls but come with cameras, have Internet facility, can handle social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. In fact, a study shows that feature phones users spend more money on their mobile phones with average revenue per unit almost 20% higher than the national average. Although, they are not as capable as of smartphones but these feature-rich feature phones appeal people with very specific needs in their minds. So, the suppliers can stock these phones in bulk without worrying of costs going up.

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       Not only in India, but the market in South America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East have very huge demands for feature phones. These low-cost phones can easily thrive in these places as the consumer is much more mindful of his/her budget. Any wholesale cell phone supplier can contact with the local dealer and can make a killing with feature phones.

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     One another reason that feature phones can thrive in wholesale cell phone market is that they are embracing new operating system. The claims and counterclaims are constantly butchering the operating system of Google and Apple. As Feature phones accept the new OS, they will make the wholesale feature phones smarter without having to push up prices. This is because of the negligible cost of adopting these new OS. They can even be better secured with rudimentary anti virus and anti spam software.

Not only in the wholesale cell phone market but also in local consumer market, feature phones are progressing equally. Now, the companies have started focusing on new technologies in feature phones. The launch of 4G (VoLTE) - capable feature phones will boost the growth of feature phones in coming years. The 4G capable feature phones are helping in services such as e-payments and banking that further make the users stick to feature phones.

Unlike the general perception, Feature phones are here to stay for long as of now. Although, there is no comparison and competition between smartphones and feature phones but the growing demand and advance features of these basic  phones can affect sales of smartphones in coming future.