Smart home gadgets, futuristic cars and robots usually draw the most attention at CES. But this year’s show also provided a surprising glimpse into the first new phones of 2022. And many of them had one thing in common: affordable prices.
Just ahead of CES 2022, Samsung announced the Galaxy S21 FE, a less expensive version of Samsung’s main S21 phone that comes with many of the same features. TCL’s new 30 series smartphones promise to deliver perks like 5G and high-resolution cameras, but will likely cost a lot less than competing devices. And Nokia announced that it will have five new phones coming to the US, all of which will cost less than $250.
The trend isn’t new; the past several years have seen a resurgence of mid-tier and budget-minded phones across the industry. Global smartphone shipments stalled around the 2018 time frame as demand for pricier smartphones weakened, and smartphone makers shifted their product strategies accordingly.
But that also means tech giants need to work harder to convince shoppers to pay around $1,000 or more for a new phone. After all, why would anyone pay $900 when there are perfectly capable phones available for $700 or less? That question isn’t lost on Samsung, Apple and Google, all of which have seen success with their respective wallet-friendly phones in the last few years. The announcements from CES 2022 just reinforce this shift.
