Yahoo! News What will happen to smartphones in 2022? Polarization of ultra-high-end with 20,000 yen level, signs of widespread use in foldable

The Xperia Ace II released by DoCoMo received a reasonable price and contributed to Sony's market share expansion.

Looking back, 2021 was a year in which the polarization of smartphones progressed. While feature phone winding and terminals in the 20,000-yen range targeting young people are growing rapidly, terminals of 200,000 yen or more, which can be called "ultra-high-end models," are also appearing one after another. Differentiated by unique functions not found in conventional smartphones. Foldable smartphones such as the "Galaxy Z" series are also one of the terminals that made the latter trend. Folding smartphones that cost less than 140,000 yen In terms of functionality, the image quality of cameras has improved, and a new approach has been taken for video recording. As represented by Google's "Pixel 6/6 Pro", the use of machine learning is advancing, and application examples other than photography are emerging. The model was equipped with a proprietary SoC, the "Tensor," but it has also become more differentiated at the semiconductor level. Here, we will look back on the trends of smartphones released in 2021 and look at the terminal market in 2022.

Entry models are expanding and variations are increasing. Smartphones in the 20,000 yen range

The first topic that symbolizes 2021 is the spread of entry models. Among them, the number of terminals with a price of around 20,000 yen has increased, and the number of hot selling devices has increased. Xiaomi's "Redmi Note 9T," which Softbank launched exclusively in February 2021, is a model that can be said to be the forerunner. Sony also gained a large share with the "Xperia Ace II" released by DoCoMo, and returned to the top share in the first half of 2021 as a manufacturer of Android smartphones. The Xperia Ace II was released as a 4G model, but 5G has expanded to entry models as well. The above Redmi Note 9T is one of them. Similarly, Xiaomi has also teamed up with KDDI and introduced the "Redmi Note 10 JE" from au and UQ mobile, but this is also an entry model that supports 5G even though it is in the 20,000 yen range. Entry models must meet certain specifications while keeping prices down, so there are many cases of partnering with a specific carrier. It can be said that this is to give a sense of scale. As I mentioned in the previous series, the background to the growth of these terminals is the "terminal discount regulation" and "3G stoppage". The former is a discount regulation revised by the Telecommunications Business Law in October 2019, which stipulates that the discount is up to 21,000 yen even if a contract is involved. If the terminal is in the 20,000 yen range, if the discount is applied up to the upper limit, it will be as close to 0 yen as possible. The reason why the entry model is expanding is that the 3G wave stoppage of KDDI is approaching March, and the number of users who are conscious of replacing feature phones with smartphones is increasing. The upper limit of the discount has not changed, and since the 3G wave of Softbank and DoCoMo is coming after KDDI, the movement to emphasize the entry model should continue after 2022. As a proof of that, Sharp's entry model "AQUOS wish" will be released from au and UQ mobile on January 15th. The price is in the high 20,000 yen range. Sharp had expanded its market share in the "AQUOS sense" series, but as mentioned above, Sony lost the lead in the first half of 2021. It can be said that it is a point to pay attention to whether the introduction of AQUOS wish can put a stop to this trend. However, due to the limited cost that can be introduced, the specifications of entry models tend to be side by side. Specifications for the Japanese market, such as Osaifu-Keitai and waterproofing, are becoming more and more popular, making it difficult to become a differentiating factor. Like the AQUOS wish, which uses recycled plastic for the body and launches the SDGs on the entire surface, it seems necessary to change the perspective of the project itself. In order to strengthen the brand, it is also necessary to clarify the characteristics of the manufacturer with high-end models.

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