Millions Could Be Using Your App on Flip Phones

Feature phones at a market in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Are flip phones still a thing?

Yes! And in markets like India, sales of 4G feature phones are growing quickly as network operators transition from 2G to 4G & 5G. Users prefer “keypad mobiles” for their affordability, durability, and long battery lives compared to budget smartphones. Even in the United States, feature phones sales reached 2.8 million units among Gen Z and millennial “digital detoxers,” seeking to decouple from scrolling addictions on social media.

Can flip phones run apps?

Many flip phones support web apps either directly, or through a proxy-based web browser. You can capitalize on this opportunity by publishing web apps on these platforms. For example, Cloud Phone is a modern Chromium-based remote browser that runs Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) on phones with as little as 16MB RAM. KaiOS is a web-based operating system that similarly supports web apps using the same engine as Firefox 48. To maximize your reach, you can even adapt your website for Opera Mini Native, although you’ll need to significantly reduce your reliance on client-side JavaScript and transpile to support its discontinued Presto engine.

Why web apps?

Opera Mini set the precedent when it first launched for Java Mobile Edition (Java ME) phones back in 2005. Opera Mini overcame hardware limitations using server-side transcoding and compression, allowing you to quickly check the weather or catch up on email. Throughout the 2010’s, feature phone platforms came and went like the Nokia-acquired Symbian platform, the failed Google Android Feature Phone (GAFP) revealed through Nokia 400 prototypes, and Microsoft’s cancelled RM-1182 T9 Windows Phone. The affordable-mobile market gap is notoriously difficult to cross. While many struggled going down market, some struggled going up market like KaiOS Smart Touch, which never got a chance to compete with Android Go.

Feature phones carefully balance functionality with affordability. Web apps are a sensible choice that provides a familiar ecosystem while eliminating the need to build, maintain, and educate developers on proprietary software development kits (SDKs).

Why should you build for feature phones?

According to the Business of Apps, there are 3.3+ million Android apps on Google Play. Feature phones are a less competitive market, making it easier to stand out and generate organic installs. More than 2.6 billion people are not connected to the internet. Because feature phones are the most affordable mobile devices, you can introduce millions of first-time internet users to your brand. When many eventually upgrade to budget smartphones, they’ll search for familiar apps and services.

Rest of World reports that countries are struggling to sunset 2G in large part due to concerns that doing so would cut off access for millions who cannot afford even a basic smartphone. In response, operators like Viettel spent 300 million dong ($12.2 million) giving away 4G feature phones like the Viettel Sumo T1 that runs Cloud Phone. As the need to free up spectrum grows, telecommunication companies are increasingly incentivized to support their 2G subscriber base in upgrading to 4G feature phones, many of which can run web apps.

How difficult is it to build apps for feature phones?

Building web apps for feature phones is actually easier than building web apps for smartphones. That’s because most feature phones have small QVGA (240x320) or QQVGA (128x160) screens and use arrow keys to navigate. There’s only so much you can fit on these small screens, so flip phone development often means simplifying your interface and removing granular controls. Newer platforms like Cloud Phone, launched in late 2023, render comparably to recent versions of Google Chrome while older platforms like KaiOS and Opera Mini require compilers like Babel and more extensive testing to adapt modern web apps.

Make an impact!

With just a few changes, your web app can be in the hands of millions on T9 feature phones. You can have an impact and benefit under-served communities around the world. Start developing for flip phones today!