Is Africa's $30 smartphone a game changer?
Onyx Connect entry-level smartphone
Story highlights
- South African firm to produce budget Android smartphone
- It wants to bridge the gap between 2G and 3G
This story is part of a special focus on South Africa and how it is shaping the future and paving the way for the rest of the continent.
(CNN)A
South African start-up will next month begin mass producing a $30
smartphone, which it describes as the first of its kind to be
manufactured in Africa.
Johannesburg-based Onyx Connect
is gearing up to launch a four-inch entry-level smartphone for about
$30 that includes front and rear cameras, 1GB RAM, 8GB ROM, 1.3GHz quad
core processor and runs the latest Android 7 Nougat.
While
most low-cost smartphones come preloaded with apps that can use up half
the storage space, Onyx will give the user a "clean" phone.
"We
have a clean Android OS -- which is Google certified... that allows the
user to decide what they want to load on their phone," Onyx sales
director Andre Van der Merwe tells CNN.
This allows Onyx to cater for a number of African languages by providing a suggested listing of country-specific apps.
Onyx
says it has also tackled the universal issue of battery life by
embedding an app in the phone that allows users to charge the phone a
lot faster and give them extra battery life.
"The
reason you're getting a 30 percent faster charging time is because
we're turning off all the applications running in the back while
charging," Van der Merwe explains. "We're not putting in an extra
charge."
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Coffee in a Cone – This is one of the world's most Instagrammed coffees. In the first six months after launching at The Grind
in Johannesburg in January 2016, nearly 1 million images with the
hashtag #coffeeinacone were liked on the picture-sharing social media
site.
Hide Caption
8 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
The Sneaker Exchange – Zaid Osman launched The Sneaker Exchange,
a popular event in Cape Town, where people buy and sell their own
footwear in 2013. "Sneakers know no color, race or creed -- all
individuals from different walks of life can come together for their
mutual love of sneakers," he told CNN.
Hide Caption
9 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Pocketslip – The successful South African mobile app Pocketslip
makes paper slips redundant. It sends digital till slips directly to
your phone, so you can keep track of your purchases and find the
receipts you need when you want to return those uncomfortable shoes.
Hide Caption
10 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Hello Pretty – South Africa's Etsy, Hello Pretty,
is an e-commerce platform selling handmade local crafts and designs.
One of their most popular products is from Bamboo Watch Revolutions, one
of the first companies to develop a watch face made from bamboo.
Hide Caption
11 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Making local work - Mulaudzi Alexandra Tours – South
African entrepreneur Jeffrey Mulaudzi started a business encouraging
tourists to discover the country on two wheels. It was in 2010, when
South Africa hosted the World Cup and tourism arrivals jumped, that
Mulaudzi saw his opportunity. Through his business, Mulaudzi hopes to connect tourists with the local community.
Hide Caption
12 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Making local work - Thundafund – The ethically conscious crowd-funding platform Thundafund,
launched in 2013, has seen unprecedented success. One of the businesses
that kicked off after their campaign on Thundafund is Honest Chocolate,
whose co-founders used the 70,000 ZAR ($6,000) they raised to turn
their industrial raw chocolate business into a boutique café and shop.
Hide Caption
13 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Making local work – One entrepreneurial couple
in Durban, South Africa set up Cappeny Estates, a surprisingly booming
strawberry farm despite the hot and humid weather of the region. After
being rejected by several banks, the couple eventually secured a loan of
$ 1.5 million, which allowed the business to kick off.
Hide Caption
14 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Mellowcabs – We take a look at some of South Africa's most innovative start ups. These urban electric cabs -- Mellowcabs -- have an estimated daily range of 110 kilometers (68 miles) and are semi-powered by a solar panel on the roof.
Hide Caption
1 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Fourex – These
machines exchange coins and notes of currencies from around the world,
saving globetrotters time and money. South African duo Jeff Paterson and
Oliver du Toit's idea for Fourex took off in 2015 when it won Richard Branson's entrepreneurship competition Pitch to Rich.
Hide Caption
2 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
BeSpecular – BeSpecular
is an app that allows the visually impaired to submit requests such as
asking which sugar jar to pick. The volunteer at the other end of the
line replies using a text or audio message, which is read out to the
blind person.
Hide Caption
3 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Lumkani – This is the world's first networked heat-detector designed specifically for a township environment. "Lumkani"
means "be careful" in isiXhosa, the language of South Africa's second
largest ethnic group. The idea came after a huge fire tore through one
of South Africa's largest townships.
Hide Caption
4 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Plasta – Lize Hartley created Plasta, a company that makes plasters of different shades to match the skin colors of South Africa's diverse population.
Hide Caption
5 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Drone Scan – South African start-up Drone Scan
aims to make warehouse workers' lives easier. Its device, which can be
attached to drones, scans bar codes of products on any level.
Hide Caption
6 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
wiGroup – Mobile transaction company wiGroup has allowed South Africans to buy coffee with their mobile phones since 2008, way before Apple Pay even existed.
Hide Caption
7 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Coffee in a Cone – This is one of the world's most Instagrammed coffees. In the first six months after launching at The Grind
in Johannesburg in January 2016, nearly 1 million images with the
hashtag #coffeeinacone were liked on the picture-sharing social media
site.
Hide Caption
8 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
The Sneaker Exchange – Zaid Osman launched The Sneaker Exchange,
a popular event in Cape Town, where people buy and sell their own
footwear in 2013. "Sneakers know no color, race or creed -- all
individuals from different walks of life can come together for their
mutual love of sneakers," he told CNN.
Hide Caption
9 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Pocketslip – The successful South African mobile app Pocketslip
makes paper slips redundant. It sends digital till slips directly to
your phone, so you can keep track of your purchases and find the
receipts you need when you want to return those uncomfortable shoes.
Hide Caption
10 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Hello Pretty – South Africa's Etsy, Hello Pretty,
is an e-commerce platform selling handmade local crafts and designs.
One of their most popular products is from Bamboo Watch Revolutions, one
of the first companies to develop a watch face made from bamboo.
Hide Caption
11 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Making local work - Mulaudzi Alexandra Tours – South
African entrepreneur Jeffrey Mulaudzi started a business encouraging
tourists to discover the country on two wheels. It was in 2010, when
South Africa hosted the World Cup and tourism arrivals jumped, that
Mulaudzi saw his opportunity. Through his business, Mulaudzi hopes to connect tourists with the local community.
Hide Caption
12 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Making local work - Thundafund – The ethically conscious crowd-funding platform Thundafund,
launched in 2013, has seen unprecedented success. One of the businesses
that kicked off after their campaign on Thundafund is Honest Chocolate,
whose co-founders used the 70,000 ZAR ($6,000) they raised to turn
their industrial raw chocolate business into a boutique café and shop.
Hide Caption
13 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Making local work – One entrepreneurial couple
in Durban, South Africa set up Cappeny Estates, a surprisingly booming
strawberry farm despite the hot and humid weather of the region. After
being rejected by several banks, the couple eventually secured a loan of
$ 1.5 million, which allowed the business to kick off.
Hide Caption
14 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Mellowcabs – We take a look at some of South Africa's most innovative start ups. These urban electric cabs -- Mellowcabs -- have an estimated daily range of 110 kilometers (68 miles) and are semi-powered by a solar panel on the roof.
Hide Caption
1 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Fourex – These
machines exchange coins and notes of currencies from around the world,
saving globetrotters time and money. South African duo Jeff Paterson and
Oliver du Toit's idea for Fourex took off in 2015 when it won Richard Branson's entrepreneurship competition Pitch to Rich.
Hide Caption
2 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
BeSpecular – BeSpecular
is an app that allows the visually impaired to submit requests such as
asking which sugar jar to pick. The volunteer at the other end of the
line replies using a text or audio message, which is read out to the
blind person.
Hide Caption
3 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Lumkani – This is the world's first networked heat-detector designed specifically for a township environment. "Lumkani"
means "be careful" in isiXhosa, the language of South Africa's second
largest ethnic group. The idea came after a huge fire tore through one
of South Africa's largest townships.
Hide Caption
4 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Plasta – Lize Hartley created Plasta, a company that makes plasters of different shades to match the skin colors of South Africa's diverse population.
Hide Caption
5 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
Drone Scan – South African start-up Drone Scan
aims to make warehouse workers' lives easier. Its device, which can be
attached to drones, scans bar codes of products on any level.
Hide Caption
6 of 14
Photos: From global innovations to local solutions
wiGroup – Mobile transaction company wiGroup has allowed South Africans to buy coffee with their mobile phones since 2008, way before Apple Pay even existed.
Hide Caption
7 of 14
Combating Chinese competition
The
Onyx smartphone is somewhat comparable to Chinese electronic giant
Huawei's basic smartphones currently dominating the South African
market, explains Van der Merwe.
Huawei was Africa's number-three smartphone vendor in 2016, behind Samsung and Transsion, according to research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).
Other budget smartphones already available in South Africa include offerings from Huawei and Alcatel, priced at around $40.
But
Van der Merwe says its biggest competition comes from sub-$50 "white
label" smartphones, which are made in China, only to be imported and
marketed in South Africa under an African brand name.
First African smartphone?
Whether
the Onyx phone will actually be the first smartphone manufactured in
Africa depends on how you define manufacturing -- and whether the
definition includes assembling the phone from imported parts.
"We've
had local assemblies for quite some time," explains Arthur Goldstruck,
head of South African business tech research firm World Wide Worx,
giving the example of South African firm Mint Mobile.
"Each
time we hear these kind of claims (of a phone made in Africa) we expect
someone to actually start manufacturing the parts in South Africa or in
Africa," he adds, "but inevitably, it goes back to the economics which
we have, in that it makes far more sense to either import the phones
directly or to import the parts and assemble them locally."
Onyx
will import its components from overseas, building its smartphones from
the circuit board up in South Africa -- which it says distinguishes it
from other phones assembled in the country.
"We're going from a bare board to populating that board, to doing our own plastic molding," says Van der Merwe.
He says the plan is to build up resource and development teams in South Africa and start bringing more of the business home.
"Besides
the fact that we're very proud that it's manufactured in South Africa,
it has a knock on effect wherever it's going out and being supported,"
he says.
The affordability of 3G
Perhaps
the phone's most attractive feature will be its affordability, as it
allows African consumers to move from 2G to 3G, says Van der Merwe.
"A lot of people have a feature phone but really want a smartphone," he says.
Of the 215 million mobile handsets shipped to Africa last year, 56% were feature phones, according to the IDC.
The smartphone market lagged behind with 95.4 million units shipped in 2016.
"Your
high end guys like Samsung are playing in the very high leagues. We're
not at that level and we don't aim to be. That's not the market we want
to play in," says Van der Merwe.
"We're trying to bridge the gap between 2G and 3G and the affordability between that."
No comments:
Post a Comment