Bengaluru 15th August : As India plans to usher in the 5G era, demand for devices compatible with 5G has plummeted in Southeast Asia as practical applications of 5G are yet to be observed amid the rising cost of living as per a new report on Monday. 5G usage in emerging Southeast Asian markets has been poor, meaning that the excitement for 5G has decreased and the market has moved towards more practical features of smartphones like the battery’s life span, storage capacity, processing speed and quality of camera, according to Canalys.
“The need for 5G smartphones is at a standstill.5G devices have experienced their first decline in sequential terms, which was 18 percent of the overall smartphone sales in the second quarter of this year,” Research analyst Chiew Le Xuan.
Inflation has increased and resulted in consumers seeking longer-lasting devices instead of less practical ones like 5G.
The practical applications of 5G are yet to be discovered, and it is not necessary for devices with low-mid speeds, as 4G speeds are adequate in everyday use.
“Maintaining the device’s affordability while increasing profitability is the biggest hurdle for vendors,” Xuan added.
In the second quarter (Q2), Southeast Asian smartphone sales were 24.5 million units.This is which is a 7 percent decline from the prior quarter.
Samsung maintained its top position despite a 19 per percentage drop from Q1 due to lower than expected sales for the mid- to high-end A series.
Indonesia was the biggest market with 37 percent share of 9.1 million shipment, being followed by Philippines with 4.4 million shipping.
The market for smartphones in Thailand declined by 14 percent in a row at 4 million units and Vietnam smartphone sales dropped 32 percent quarter-on-quarter, to 3.1 million units due to of lower consumer demand resulting from global uncertainty and the rise in commodity prices.
The market for smartphones in Malaysia increased by 6 percent to 2.4 million shipment.
na/
.
