Flip Phones Still Popular in Japan While Smartphone Sales Stall
Ryan Simmons / 10 years ago
Remember flip phones? Phones like the insanely popular Moto Razr? They were all the rage before the smartphone came along. Well, actually, flip phones aren’t dead yet, not in Japan at least.
Sales of flip phones grew by 5.7 percent to an amazing 10.58 million units, compared to a 5.3 percent decrease in the sales of smartphones – down to 27.7 million units sold. The MM Research Institute, who conducted the research, says that this isn’t unprecedented – sales of smartphones in Japan were also down last year too.
So why is this? Apparently Japan’s sales of smartphones are heavily reliant on subscription cycles. Hideaki Yokota of MM Research told Reuters that “Smartphones are also peaking in terms of functionality and they tend to last a long time as well, so there are fewer renewals.” This is also down to the high price of contracts in Japan; flip phone contracts are seemingly much cheaper, making them more attractive despite their lack of features.
