No PH local brand released a smartphone this year
Last year (2022), only CHERRY Philippines released a smartphone line among all the local brands in the country—the impressive Aqua S10 and Aqua SV. This year? None.
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| MyPhone file photo |
End of the local smartphone brand era?
Probably not for now.
Recently, a leaked photo of a CHERRY Philippines brochure showed that the company has two upcoming promising budget smartphones from its Aqua Series called the S11 Pro and GR.
The Aqua S11 Pro at PHP 7,999 features a 6.7-inch AMOLED FHD+ 120Hz screen, 6nm MTK Helio G99 SoC, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, 5,000mAh battery, USB-C 33W fast charging, 64MP main cam, and 16MP selfie camera.
The Aqua GR at PHP 11,999 is even more impressive boasting a 6.8-inch AMOLED FHD+ 120Hz screen, 6nm MTK Dimensity 7050 5G chip, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, 4,700mAh battery capacity, and a 66W USB-C fast charging support. The device also has a 108MP main camera and a 16MP selfie camera.
However, the heyday of the local brands is long gone.
While they have still phones, even a company as big as CHERRY can't release them left and right while still having margins to be profitable like they did before. Thankfully, the company told us (team GIZGUIDE) that mobile phones are still part of its vision even if they have already evolved into an AIoT company.
CHERRY's closest rival and fellow mobile phone brand pioneer MyPhone last posted on Facebook in October 2022. Other notable brands like Starmobile, Cloudfone, and Torque stopped releasing phones long ago.
For the past few years, foreign brands, especially Chinese brands have eaten the market share of the local brands in the budget smartphone segment. Most of them have beaten the local brands in the specs and features for the price.
Do you think local brands can still make a comeback?
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