Subscribers Drop Below 5 Million... Feature Phones Disappear in the 5G Era

[Asia Economy Reporter Seol Gina] "Feature phones are a thing of the past. Nowadays, even my friends all use their cell phones to KakaoTalk and watch YouTube."

Yoon, a woman in her 70s living in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, switched to a Samsung Electronics Galaxy A series phone last year. Her daughter, knowing that Yoon enjoyed watching Song Ga-in YouTube videos among acquaintances, recommended a popular budget smartphone for seniors. She also took smartphone classes at a nearby welfare center. Yoon said, "These days, there are many phones with large screens and affordable prices that focus on the functions needed by people our age," as she skillfully opened the YouTube window.

◆ Feature phone subscriber ratio plunges to 8.82% = Feature phones are disappearing. Just over five years ago, one in five people used them, but now it is less than one in ten. As smartphone use has expanded into everyday life and the variety of devices by price and function has increased, feature phones are losing their place.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 4th, the number of feature phone subscribers in Korea fell below 5 million for the first time at 4,952,988 as of the end of January. This is a decrease of 110,797 from the previous month and 1,263,601 from the previous year. After the commercialization of 5G last May, the number fell below 6 million, and in just eight months, it also dropped below 5 million.

The proportion of feature phones among all mobile phone subscribers was only 8.82%. It has remained in single digits since September last year (9.7%). Meanwhile, the smartphone ratio increased from 88.86% a year ago to 91.18%. Just five years ago, the number of feature phone subscribers in Korea exceeded 12 million. However, after falling below 10 million in December 2015 (9,992,859), it has rapidly declined every year to the point where the leading digit changes.

◆ Samsung Electronics has had zero feature phones since 2014 = This is largely due to the penetration of smartphone usage into everyday areas such as shopping, finance, video viewing, and messaging. Initially, smartphones were exclusive to younger generations, but now the age barrier has broken down. In last year's smartphone overdependence report, the rate among those in their 60s approached 15%.

A KT agency official said, "In recent years, as more seniors have started using smartphones, the number of children inquiring about 'smartphones for seniors' has increased," adding, "We mainly recommend budget models with simple interfaces and large screens." Kim Su-rim, a social worker at Dongjak Isu Social Welfare Center, said, "Nowadays, many seniors use smartphones," and "smartphone education programs for seniors are popular among the welfare center's offerings."

Even manufacturers are reluctant to develop feature phone devices due to profitability concerns, so the number of feature phone users is expected to decline more rapidly in the future. The last OS-free feature phone released by Samsung Electronics was the Samsung Master in May 2014.

An industry insider said, "The main reasons for preferring feature phones are low cost and personal circumstances that require only basic functions," adding, "As this demand is absorbed by budget or used smartphone models, feature phones will disappear from the market like city phones or beepers in the past."

However, there are cases where people use both smartphones and feature phones to separate work and private life. A woman in her 30s who acquired a feature phone last month said, "As a teacher, I find it burdensome to receive frequent KakaoTalk messages from parents, so I use a feature phone for work."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.