According to the e-commerce aggregator iPrice Group study, The Philippines is among the countries in Southeast Asia where smartphones are the least affordable.
In its Study “State of Shoppers in Southeast Asia,” iPrice said that “smartphones were found to be the least affordable for Filipino, Vietnamese and Indonesian Consumers.”
It also added that the average price for a mid-range smartphone is two or more times the average monthly salary in the Philippines and Vietnam.
The e-commerce aggregator said that even low-end smartphones are expensive investments for customers in the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia as they cost more than 70% of the average monthly wage.
IPrice said that the affordability of smartphones was determined by comparing the average salaries of the selected countries with the average prices of selected smartphone models and brands such as Apple, Samsung, Oppo, and Vivo.
Given the situation in the said Southeast Asia markets, the Philippines have continuous growth in the smartphone market, with an estimated 77.1 percent of Filipinos using the device by 2025. Pent-up demand for affordable mobile devices, along with increasing time spent on their smartphones, boosted growth in the Philippines’ smartphone market, as published by Statista Research Department.
Smartphones had become essential in the daily lives of every Filipino, especially during the pandemic when we most use our smartphones to stay connected with our family and friends and when we shifted to online classes.
Spending on a brand new smartphone can hurt your pocket, and as more features were made available to such devices, owning a smartphone became crucial to the large population of internet-savvy Filipinos, but with the Mybest Smartphones Recommendation Service, they guided every Filipino in selecting the best budget smartphone with their top 5 list and buying guide fact-checked by IT Specialist JC Rogelio:
- Best overall: Huawei Nova 8i
- Best for gaming: Realme Narzo 50A
- Best for taking selfies: Oppo Reno 6
- Best battery life: Nokia G21
- Best value for money: Redmi Note 11
Since more and more companies are coming out with flagship-level smartphones at a much lower price point, you can now get high-quality ones without sacrificing the quality.
Anon, (2022). Smartphones ‘least affordable’ in Philippines – study – The Filipino Times. [online] Available at: https://filipinotimes.net/latest-news/2022/07/19/smartphones-least-affordable-in-philippines-study/ [Accessed 20 Jul. 2022].
mybest. (n.d.). 10 Best Affordable Smartphones in the Philippines 2022 | Buying Guide Reviewed by IT Specialist. [online] Available at: https://my-best.ph/15201 [Accessed 20 Jul. 2022].
Statista. (n.d.). Topic: Smartphones market in the Philippines. [online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/8230/smartphones-market-in-the-philippines/#dossierKeyfigures.
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