After statements about “import substitution”, even local experts doubt the possibility of creating a Russian smartphone that could be successful for the consumer.
National Computer Corporation (NCC), one of Russia’s largest IT companies, has announced that it will launch and sell 100,000 “sovereign” smartphones and tablets by the end of 2023, Wired. The publication asked the experts of the Russian Federation what they thought about it. It turns out that they do not believe in the success of the “sovereign” smartphone.
In turn, NCC plans to invest $130 million in this project and hopes to capture at least 10% of the Russian gadget market by 2026. However, Russian market experts still have an open question: on which operating system will the “sovereign” devices run? If the “enemy” is on the Android operating system, the US will most likely immediately block access to Google services, as with Huawei (after which the profit of the Chinese company immediately fell by 30% over the past year – ed.). As for the “native” Aurora operating system (built on the basis of the Finnish Sailfish operating system), AYYA T1 phones based on it have been sold since 2022, but so far they have not gained popularity. In addition, in December, the Russian government refused to allocate $292 million for the development of the Russian operating system.
Another problem that experts call “iron” is the chips necessary for smartphones. China and Russia have been under US sanctions for a long time, and the Chinese cannot be counted on to devote their capacity to the production of orders for Russian smartphones.
Meanwhile, Smartekosistema, owned by state giant Rostec, is still unable to launch the AYYA T2 model, due to Taiwanese chip maker TSMC’s refusal to cooperate with them after the USA, Japan and the Netherlands implemented a new technological sanctions package. Because Russia attacked Ukraine.
Also, local analysts do not believe in the commercial success of this entire venture. Even if it is possible to create any “sovereign” smartphone, only “turbo patriots” will buy it. Others will not understand why they should switch from the usual and cheaper Xiaomi, Realmi or Oppo to the “originally Russian” analogue, which will actually be assembled from Chinese components at a local factory.
And the parallel market has not disappeared. Wealthy Russians continue to buy the same sanctioned iPhones and Samsungs through “gray” imports, although they have become much more expensive than before.
Previously Focus He wrote that AliExpress is depriving the Russians of cheap drones to wage war in Ukraine.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.