Smartphones have become more complete with rapid evolution. The penetration rate in Japan has reached 50%, and it is said that the overheating of the market as a whole is subsiding. Last year, each mobile phone company realized a flat rate for voice calls in Japan, switched to tiered billing for data communication charges based on communication volume, and launched services that make use of new networks, such as carrier aggregation and VoLTE. There are many people who believe that the domestic smartphone market has already reached maturity, as the usage environment, which is the main focus, has been enhanced.
Under these circumstances, attention will be paid to what kind of movements each mobile phone company will show from this year onwards, but au will have a slightly different lineup for this spring sales season. I have arranged.
Looking back on the lineup development of each company's smartphones so far, in the early stages, like the mobile phone era, there were a wide variety of variations for various user groups, but in the past year or two, major manufacturers have The lineup has been gradually narrowed down, centering on the flagship model. As a result, all models had similar shapes and specifications, and there was an impression that they were not sufficiently differentiated. As a result, attention was focused on models with superior brand power, and there was a tendency that the sales rankings were somewhat biased.
However, with the penetration rate of smartphones reaching 50%, in the future we will have to approach the user segment called the "late majority" or "laggard" in marketing terms. At the same time, it would be a problem if the number of people who have switched to smartphones but have not been able to obtain sufficient satisfaction and return to feature phones or cannot use smartphones in a way that is typical of smartphones.
Therefore, au has developed a model with a clear target for a wider range of users. When users look at the handset lineup, they will think, "This will suit me," and "This will suit me." I have arranged it. Strategies will differ depending on the mobile phone operator, but considering the current situation where the smartphone market has matured, it seems that the time has come for other companies to similarly devise some kind of device lineup.