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Dumbphones have seen a noticeable uptick in usage over the last few years, the BBC has reported.
It represents a front-running example of what the Trends Journal noted as a more widespread predicted Top Trend of 2022, “LOW TECH SIMPLICITY” (30 Nov 2021).
According to a survey by software company SEMrush, Google searches for them increased by 89 percent between 2018 and 2021.
“It appears fashion, nostalgia, and them appearing in TikTok videos, have a part to play in the dumbphone revival,” Ernest Doku, a mobile devices expert at price comparison site Uswitch.com, commented. “Many of us had a dumbphone as our first mobile phone, so it’s natural that we feel a sense of nostalgia towards these classic handsets.”
While specific sales figures are difficult to come by, one source estimates that global dumbphone sales increased to one billion in 2018, up from 400 million in 2019. This is down from 12.5 percent in 2020, when worldwide smart phone sales were 1.4 billion.
Meanwhile, according to a Deloitte report from 2021, one out of every ten mobile phone users in the UK has a dumbphone.
The rebirth, according to Doku, was prompted by the 2017 relaunch of Nokia’s 3310 device, which initially debuted in 2000 and is one of the best-selling mobile phones of all time.
Zerohedge noted that New York based Light Phone has become one leading manufacturer of dumbphones, and that its handsets, which are somewhat more intelligent than the typical for such goods, enable users to listen to music and podcasts, as well as connect through Bluetooth to headphones.