Cape Town – The popularity of low-cost smartphones has soared, and they now make up a quarter of all smartphone sales, according to data compiled market research company GfK.
A total of about 2.7 million sub-R750 smartphones were sold in South Africa last year, compared to just 590 000 units in 2013, as consumers upgraded from conventional cellphones to devices which can connect to the internet, download applications and access social media.
GfK sourced its statistics from point-of-sales data.
In addition, for the first time total sales of smartphones topped those of feature or “plain” cellphones in South Africa.
Just over 10 million smartphones in all price ranges were sold last year, an increase of 70 percent over the 5.8 million devices sold in 2013.
A number of manufacturers released the latest editions of their flagship cellphones, including Apple’s iPhone 6, Samsung’s Galaxy S5, HTC’s One M8 and the Sony’s Xperia Z3.
Cellphone service operators and providers told Weekend Argus the low-cost smartphone market still had room to grow.
“The SA market is geared up for a great year on the sales for affordable smartphones,” said Larry Annett, chief marketing officer at MTN.
The cheapest smartphone MTN sells has is the Alcatel PIXI 2, which retails for R579.
The Android touchscreen smartphone comes with a 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth and wi-fi.
The first affordable smartphone MTN sold, the successful STEPPA, is in its second generation.
The second generation STEPPA 2 smartphone and FIRST steppa tablet both retail for R999, and include 200MB of data bundles per month for 12 months.
“(Manufacturers) are already understanding the importance of smartphones in this region and the war around pricing will only favour the consumer,” said Annett.
Vodacom spokesman Richard Boorman said the group had recently launched two house-brand devices – the Vodacom Kicka smartphone which sells for R550, and the Vodacom Smart Tab 3G which sells for R999.
Both were released to help consumers connect to the internet, he said.
The devices can also be purchased on contract for less than R2 per day, for those who do not want to pay cash for them.
Boorman said sales were strong.
“Within the first two months of launch we sold almost a quarter of a million Smart Kicka devices, clearly demonstrating that South Africa has a strong appetite for well-priced, well-specced devices.”
The Smart Kicka comes with Android 4.4 KitKat, wi-fi, GPS, Bluetooth, a built-in camera and an FM radio.
Boorman said the group planned to release its first affordable LTE-compatible smartphone for under R1 500.
Karin Fourie, spokeswoman for Cell C, said there was a “great need and demand for affordable smartphones”.
She said the popularity of social media and instant messaging were “driving customers to smartphones”.
The cheapest smartphone Cell C offers is the AG Chrome Selfie. “It remains very popular and is still selling very well through our retail partners,” she said.
The Android device which includes a touchscreen and 2MP camera, which comes preloaded with popular apps WhatsApp and Facebook sells for R549 at Pep Stores.
Facts and figures
* While sales of feature phones still numbered in the millions, they dropped 20 percent last year compared to 2013.
* A total of 8.9 million feature phones were sold in 2014, compared to 11.3 million in 2013.
* The average price of smartphones also decreased, from R3 962 to R3 453.
* The price of feature phones, meanwhile, also continued to fall.
* Their average price declined from R397 in 2013 to R343 last year.
* This means consumers can now buy a low-end smartphone for less than twice the price of the average conventional cellphone.
* The high end of the market also grew last year, according to GfK.
* In total 2.2 million phones priced at R6 000 and above were sold, compared to 1.5 million in 2013.
What’s in a phone?
Smartphones differ from what are called feature or conventional “plain” mobile phones as they perform many functions similar to computers. They generally come equipped with touchscreen interfaces, can download and run apps and give easy access to the internet. Many come with cameras.
Feature phones, or “plain” mobilephones, are still similar to the first generation cellphones. They can make phone calls and can send SMSes, using keypads instead of touchscreens. Their screens and operating systems are generally not configured for surfing the internet or downloading apps.