Gen Z Collectively Abandon Smartphones, Switch to Feature Phones Instead
Jakarta — Smartphones are increasingly ceasing to be the primary choice for some young people and Generation Z consumers. This demographic is reported to be growing fatigued with the use of smartphones in everyday life.
Jose Briones, an influencer known for promoting the use of “dumb phones,” has noted that this phenomenon is becoming apparent amongst certain segments of Gen Z.
“I think you can see it with certain Gen Z populations — they’re tired of screens,” Briones stated, citing CNBC International.
According to him, certain Gen Z consumers are now turning their attention to older mobile phones or feature phones. This transition trend has already begun appearing in the United States over recent years.
HMD Global has emerged as one company capitalising on this shift. The company owns the iconic Nokia brand, which sold vast quantities of feature phones in the early 2000s.
Feature phone sales in the United States alone surged to tens of thousands per month in 2022, occurring when global smartphone sales experienced a decline.
The feature phone market is dominated by consumers in the Middle East, Africa and India. Counterpoint Research reported that these markets accounted for 80 per cent of the feature phone market last year.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s smartphone market has not performed particularly well. Consumer purchasing power has been declining over recent years.
IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report stated that Indonesia’s smartphone market contracted by 14.3 per cent in 2023, with only 35 million units shipped.
Premium smartphones underperforming
However, conditions began improving last year. Overall, Indonesia’s smartphone market experienced positive growth of 15.5 per cent year-on-year to reach nearly 40 million units throughout 2024.
According to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report, vendors achieved strong growth in the first half of 2024 following several quarters of decline in previous years.
In Q4 2024, Indonesia’s mobile phone market grew 9.6 per cent year-on-year and stagnated slightly at -0.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter.
In 2024, growth was primarily driven by the ultra low-end segment (below 1.6 million rupiah) led by Transsion. The mid-range segment (between 3.2-9.8 million rupiah) experienced strong growth of 24.9 per cent year-on-year, with OPPO leading this segment.
Conversely, smartphones priced above 10 million rupiah declined significantly by 9.2 per cent, largely owing to the ban on iPhone 16 sales in Q4 2024.
The 5G market share increased significantly to 25.8 per cent in 2024, up from 17.1 per cent in the previous year. This increase was driven primarily by new model launches and increasingly affordable 5G offerings.