NEW DELHI: People will have to cough up at least Rs 10,000 more to buy a good 5G smartphone, according to industry experts. The experts are of the view that a decent 5G smartphone would cost anything above Rs 20,000 to consumers.
“You can say that a great 4G phone today can be purchased at 12,000 but a great 5G without any compromises can be purchased at 22,000,” said Taun Pathak, Research Director, Counterpoint Research.
As telecom operators have started rolling out 5G services in the country, the sale of 5G smartphones is going to increase manifold.
According to Counterpoint Research, 5G smartphones contributed to 31% of shipments during Aug 2022, and they are expected to reach 35% by end of 2022. The research also noted that one out of every three Smartphones sold during the festive season will be 5G enabled.
It means there are good days for the smartphone makers in the country but not for the consumers. Faisal Kawoosa, founder and chief analyst at researcher TechARC says 5G smartphones prices have increased 15-25% due to supply chain issues and introduction of 5G. He expects prices of 5G smartphones to cross Rs 25,000 by December 2022 and users will buy them by default.
“We have built a robust ecosystem of 5G-enabled devices with more than 12 devices that range across different price segments,” says Tasleem Arif, VP and R&D Head, OPPO India. However, prices of 4G smartphones will come down after the launch of 5G phones. “The 4G smartphone will still stay in the market for the next 3-4 years but will be pushed to a lower price tier like under the `10,000 segment,” added Pathak.
Prabhu Ram, Head - Industry Intelligence Group, CMR said while 4G will continue to be relevant, we anticipate 4G smartphone prices to witness price cuts across the board as 5G kicks-off. Telecom operator Reliance Jio recently launched the beta trial of its True-5g Services for Jio users in four cities Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Varanasi.
The company said it would roll out 5G services nationwide by December 2024. India’s second largest telco Bharti Airtel said Airtel 5G plus is live in several top cities including Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi. Airtel will cover the main cities by March 2024. Vodafone Idea hasn’t yet spelled any details regarding its 5G launch in the country.
5G smartphone price prediction