According to Decluttr, an online service where users can resell old tech products for refurbishment, interest in retro-styled technology is increasing among young people, in this case, foldable phones.
Popularized in the early 2000s, clamshell flip phones were fashionable thanks to their compact design, only a fraction of the size of the bulky "brick" phones of a few years earlier. But flip phones weren't ideal for texting because of their tiny screens and T9 keypads.
Foldable phones will be the shopping trend for young users.
Since the iPhone launched in 2007, smartphones have adopted what could be considered a boring bar-style design. For years, rectangular touchscreens were the standard for mobile phones, but new reports show that online searches for flip phones have increased by 15,369% over the past year among Gen Z and Millennials.
But it's not just flip phones in general that are attracting the attention of the younger generation. Accordingly, Google searches for the keyword "Motorola Razr flip" have increased by 241% in the past 12 months. Searches for Oppo's flip phone (Oppo Flip phone) have also increased by 511%.
Liam Howley, chief marketing officer at Decluttr, suggests that young people may be somewhat nostalgic for a time when technology was simpler. He argues that nostalgia is powerful and many current consumers simply want a product that looks different from the currently popular models.
The number of foldable phones sold in 2023 increased by nearly 44% compared to the previous year. The same report predicts that more than 54 million devices will be sold by 2027, a 382% increase from 14.2 million in 2022.
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