JioPhone became the best-selling feature phone in Q1 2018: Counterpoint

The top five feature phone list is still dominated by the incumbent 2G feature phones.

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According to a new report by market research firm Counterpoint, Reliance JioPhone became the best-selling feature phone model with 15 percent in Q1 2018 followed by Nokia HMD, iTel, Samsung, and Tecno.

 
JioPhone became the best-selling feature phone in Q1 2018

The report said that driven by strong shipments of Reliance JioPhone in India and the return of Nokia HMD, the global feature phone market grew 38 percent annually in Q1 2018.

 

Adding to that India alone contributed to almost 43 percent of the total feature phone shipments in Q1 2018.

"There are still around half a billion feature phones sold every year and these continue to serve the needs of the roughly two billion feature phones users globally.

This is still a huge market catering to a diverse user base, many of whom still prefer feature phones over a smartphone," Counterpoint further said.

Nokia HMD had 14 percent market share, iTel got 13 percent, Samsung grabbed six percent and Tecno also had six percent market share in the global feature phone market.

Furthermore, the top five feature phone list is still dominated by the incumbent 2G feature phones. This might change in the coming quarters, as more 4G feature phones become available in the market, with Nokia HMD launching a 4G version of its 3310 model and the newly launched 8810 models. Other feature phone OEMs are also expected to follow the trend by launching such devices.

"The launch of 4G feature phones is helping OEMs drive feature phone to feature phone upgrades while it also drives 4G adoption for telecom operators," Counterpoint's research analyst Shobhit Srivastava, said.

Companies like KaiOS and Reliance Jio are working to add more value to the 4G feature phones, as a result making it more appealing for the bottom of pyramid users who are not comfortable with touch form factor, lack of vernacular content and quality smartphones below $40, he added.

Reliance Jio 4G: 5 Tips To Boost Your 4G Internet Speed | Gizbot

Further adoption can be driven by the possible introduction of new apps e.g. Facebook, Google Assitant, maps, search and digital payments, the research firm pointed out.

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