via CNBC:
- The smartphone industry plans to tackle a global slowdown in sales by selling new, pricey foldable devices and handsets that can support the super high-speed mobile internet standard known as 5G.
- But that may not be enough to sway people to trade in their old phones as long as they remain in good working conditions, according to what some British, Singaporean and Chinese consumers told CNBC’s “Beyond The Valley.”
- International Data Corporation said smartphone shipment volumes for the first quarter of 2019 fell 6.6% on-year after a 4.9% year-over-year decline in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The smartphone industry has a two-part plan to tackle a global slowdown in sales: sell a pricey new type of mobile device that is able to transform into a tablet, and promote phones that can support super high-speed mobile internet standard 5G.
But those flashy new features may not be enough to sway people to trade in their old phones immediately, as long as they’re in good condition.
Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker by shipment volume, earlier this year introduced the Galaxy Fold — a nearly $2,000 foldable smartphone that ran into early issues, which delayed its commercial release. Chinese phone maker Huawei, for its part, also announced a foldable phone that will cost around $2,600.
CNBC’s “Beyond The Valley ” caught up with people on the streets of London, Singapore and Guangzhou, China to ask what they thought of foldable smartphones and the responses were not positive:
“It looks very strange,” according to a smartphone user in Guangzhou.
“It’s super bulky,” said a user in Singapore.
“Phones are supposed to be for calling, for texting and for being connected with the world,” a user in London said about her expectations for smartphones. “I don’t think that I really need to pay that much to have this because I can pay a lot less and still be satisfied.”
Market research firm International Data Corporation said that smartphone shipment volumes for the first quarter of 2019 fell 6.6% on-year after a 4.9% year-over-year decline in the fourth quarter of 2018.