SA Estimates 4G Will Be 75% of Low-Cost ‘Smart Feature Phones’ Sold in 2024

Low-cost 4G smartphones and “smart feature phones” will be “key” in the “global drive to connect the unconnected,” said Strategy Analytics Thursday: “One of the most important trends ... in the handset industry today is the rapidly falling price of 4G smartphones and feature phones.” It estimates 4G handsets will be a third of feature phones and 75 percent of “ultra-low-cost” smartphones sold in 2024. Speeding 4G "migration and adoption" in developing markets will benefit operators "in terms of network efficiencies and spectrum re-farming," while also benefiting societies in bridging "the digital divide," said SA.