Flip phones are resurging in the market with more and more people trying to unwind and disconnect from the digital world.
While CNN portrays flip phones as “vintage technology” which has caught the attention of Gen Z, the New York Times hails them as the choice of teens trying to flee the 24*7 connected world.
“There is definitely a desire among people of many age groups to remain connected without getting completely drawn into the rabbit hole that is your smartphone,” said Avi Greengart, lead analyst for Techsponential. “Especially social media apps.”
With flip phones, users can take calls, receive and send messages, without falling into the abyss of constant posts and TikToks.
“Many smartphone users [are] beginning to recognize they are spending too much time glued to their devices and [have] a strong desire to disconnect and ‘be fully present’ to improve their quality of social connections,” said Jackie Kates, the head of marketing in North America for HMD Global, which makes Nokia’s smartphone and feature phones.
“While it may be difficult to completely go off the grid for everyone, switching to a classic phone takes them back to basics.”
Since 2018, flip phones make up less than 5% of the total phone market.
“In 2021, only 5 million feature phones were shipped to the US versus 153 million smartphones, and we expect a similar number of [feature phones] for 2022,” said Popal.
While flip phones are gaining popularity among some, they are still a declining category overall, said Greengart.
If you are considering a flip phone, Nokia is always a good choice since it is built to last.
TCL also offers the Flip, which stands out for its cover display. Of course, then there’s Samsung’s Flip 4, one of the higher-end foldables in the market.
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