Remember the time when the usage of phones was just calling and only well-off grownups would have cellphones. Then smartphones came along with the greatest innovations. Now from a newborn baby’s learning words to an aged person’s video calling to his relatives, every single person’s basic necessity is the smartphone.
Technology has thrived enormously over the last few decades, which has bought a revolution to the IT and Telecom sector. Phones which were principally evolved to settle on calls only, have now ended up being a need and are simply not restricted to calling. They have taken over numerous gadgets which are valuable in everyday lives. Consistently individuals experience countless better and improved features being inserted into them. Today they are accessible in all shapes and measures and within the budget boundaries of general people. This has happened principally because of two reasons, the first being an outstanding development in the quantity of clients and the other being the tireless section of new makers on the lookout. This makes it difficult for customers to choose an inactive smartphone because manufacturers are offering smartphones at low prices with a wide range of capabilities.
The smartphone ecosystem is running on top of the platform, as well as the infrastructural components. The hardware and software platform, as well as the programs (apps) that run on top of the platform and infrastructure, make up the smartphone ecosystem. As smartphones become more integrated into our daily lives, it’s critical to profile, comprehend, and, eventually, safeguard the devices and the data they gather and manage. The profile can be used for app fingerprinting, boosting user awareness and monitoring of program activity, improving user experience, assessing performance, and security implications.
Source: LightCastle Partners
Top mobile manufacturers are investing heavily in high-resolution cameras, design, CPUs, a trendy appearance, and accessories, all while paying close attention to the needs of its customers. Consumer preferences are always changing for smartphone as new technologies emerge on a daily basis, bringing the most up-to-date fashions, innovations, and functionalities to the market. Customers can now choose from a large variety of cellphones in the market. Apple, Samsung, Oppo, and Vivo are among the main worldwide players with a strong hold on the market. Huawei and LG are also in the category of the leading brands, followed by ZTE and Lenovo.
Smartphone manufacturers take advantage of their relationships with the service providers in the ecosystem to promote their devices and generate income. As a result, the number of co-branded smartphones on the market has grown significantly. With the growing demand for mobile internet, manufacturers in the ecosystem began forming relationships with service providers. In the first quarter of 2018, telecoms in Bangladesh started 4G services to upgrade lower-generation users to the 4G network. This acted as a powerful motivator for the smartphone category to continue its upward trajectory from 2017. Furthermore, telecommunication as a channel saw a twofold increase in shipments in 2018. According to BTRC data, the number of subscribers of mobile operators like Grameen Phone Ltd., Robi Axiata Limited, Banglalink Digital Communications Limited and Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd. was 79.037 million, 50.901 million, 35.272 million, and 4.927 million, respectively, at the end of last year.
Aside from these apps, ride-sharing services such as Uber, Pathao, and Shohoz are important parts of the ecosystem. Because of apps, smartphones have become a need for a convenient, low-cost, and rapid lifestyle. Apart from customers, many riders or drivers have begun to purchase cellphones to make a living through the ride-sharing network.
With the growing popularity of digital media, service providers are concentrating their efforts on making content streaming services available to users. The three service providers in our country’s ecosystem have their own content services (Bioscope from Grameenphone, Banglaflix from Banglalink and Robi TV from Robi). Other Bangladeshi enterprises, such as BongoBD, Amazon and Netflix provide on demand services to the public.
The district houses a significant number of key smartphone creators like Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd, Samsung Electronics, Vivo Communication Technology Co. Ltd, and Xiaomi Corporation, which together hold the lion’s offer in the by and large cell phone market. According to data from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the number of subscribers in the country reached 170.137 million in December 2020 with an addition of 4.57 million new users last year. Currently the country has four mobile companies, three of which are foreign-backed smart phone operators. Local production of phones is still less than one-fourth of the imported ones.
Walton was an introducer in mobile manufacturing as the venture kicked off back in 2017. Afterward, worldwide smartphone sellers Samsung, Symphony, Oppo and Realme began production locally. Symphony has the largest nation-wide distribution of over 17,000 outlets and have contributed to the success of the company. Customers appreciate the brand Xiaomi for the perfect combination of affordability and quality it offers. Samsung began its manufacturing in association with a local partner in 2017, which is now leading Bangladesh mobile handset market with 1.12-million units in 2019. It is followed by Symphony (1.08 million units), Transsion (0.94 million units), Walton (0.73 million units) and Xiaomi (0.71 million units).
The investment in local smartphone market till now has been very eye catching. Given its impressive track record in economic and social improvement over the previous decade, Bangladesh will be one of the growing economies to watch in the next years. The young population of Bangladesh, with a median age of 27 years, adds to the constant upsurge of the country’s economic growth owing to the expansion of the smartphone ecosystem value. The majority of the population will be made up of young people who will benefit from increased incomes and greater living standards as the economy grows. Bangladesh’s digital ecosystem is flourishing, thanks to the millennial population’s rising affluence and the execution of state policies aimed at boosting the ICT sector’s growth. Smartphones and laptops, which are internet-enabled gadgets, have gone from being luxury consumer durables to becoming necessity for a large portion of the population.
Local and international mobile phone manufacturers are establishing or planning to establish onshore production. Bangladesh’s transformation into a gadget-making hub will rely heavily on the growth of onshore manufacturing and assembly.
Given the favorable economic and digital environment, it is not surprising that both international and domestic electronics manufacturers have begun to produce mobile phones locally. Five local and international manufacturers produced 23, 00,000 mobile phones in Bangladesh in 2018. In the future years, more international manufacturers intend to open factories. Some such as Samsung assemble phones in Bangladesh and others, such as Walton, claim to produce every mobile device. Brands such as Walton, Symphony and Samsung produced and assembled success stories and inspired others to follow.
Let’s look into the smartphone market in a broader sight. The earnings of the global smartphone market continued to rise over the last few years, despite depressing unit sales – due to a growing average selling price of smartphones. Asia drives the smartphone market as far as production and sales are concerned. China contributed for 60 percent of the region’s total market value and 54 percent of market volume – making it the largest contributing country in the global smartphone market.
The chart given above shows that, Bangladesh is lagging behind as compared to its South Asian companions in smartphone use, as indicated by a report of GSMA, which addresses portable administrators around the world. The report published on March 2021, said 41 percent of mobile phone clients had smart phones in Bangladesh. Bangladesh, however, has done better compared with Nepal and Sri Lanka on 4G connections. Just 17% of the population has 4G connections in Nepal, and 18 percent in Sri Lanka, as per the report. India has the most noteworthy 4G connections at 63% of the population followed by Pakistan.
Smartphones in Bangladesh, like other nations, are nationally accepted and have designated Bangladesh as the fifth-largest mobile market in the Asia-Pacific. More and more organizations thus want to be a part of the smartphone ecosystem to boost business growth by keeping up with the regular technological boons happening worldwide, as smartphones become increasingly popular.
Bangladesh’s mobile phone business has a very bright future because of the rapid change of availability and usability, also with a growth in low-cost phones. As these are the types of phones that people want the most, there is a lot of room for new entrants to enter this market. Due to the fast expansion of retail shops, buying alternatives using EMI (Equated Monthly Installments) and online platforms, purchasing a phone is now a requirement and it is easier than ever. As a result, producers should consider product delivery routes and the buying experience in addition to products and features. Digital technologies, especially mobile phones in general, are very significant in order to efficiently implement the 2041 perspective plan of the government, to reach the sustainable development goals and to recover from the economic difficulties caused by the COVID 19 epidemic. If improvised strategically, the successful implementation of these visions are not impossible at all.
Smartphones are a useful invention in general. They make it simple for consumers to browse the internet and document information. Apps on a phone allow users to accomplish a lot of things with their hands. Music, photos, and paperwork all fit in a pocket. Users can send emails directly from their phones in addition to conventional phone calls, voice mail, and text messages. With apps and websites available at all times, social networking has never been easier. Smartphones can be effectively used as a camera, notepad, calendar, alarm clock, and computer – all in one device. Majority of the smartphone concerns have answers, making them more of a benefit than a risk. While there are certain security and societal concerns related with smart phones, they are extremely useful devices that almost everyone finds indispensable in their daily and professional life.
