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It seems like it’s too early to tell whether the rise of the dumbphone is a short-term fad or has the potential to enact a significant shift in our relationship with smartphones. That’s not to dismiss its potential to awaken the possibility of a change in design and marketing strategies—forward-thinking companies are the ones who can write off ideas as fads or identify ones that have the potential to change the world.
How The Internet Changed Gaming
It’s wild to think that the internet was once written off as a fad—some experts believed it wouldn’t have the capability, speed, or security to become a force in society. Obviously, the benefit of hindsight has made these people feel very foolish, but it is often much easier to look back in time and ridicule them than to look at them through the prism of society at the time.
The internet is a disruptive innovation that has transformed the gaming world forever. Those who initially dismissed its potential were left dumbfounded by how quickly it has become such an integral force in our lives.
Companies within the gaming industry that gambled on its becoming so widespread and adopted massively could cash in. The gambling industry was one of the first to explore this route successfully, moving from localized markets to global enterprises.
Although helped along by a growing number of trends, such as cheaper internet and more accessible access via smartphones, which meant that those who gamble online were able to access the services much more quickly, online gambling showed just how much potential there was for those gaming companies that were able to harness the online interest and provide a route for online gamblers to access their services.
We’re not going to be too reductive and say that the enormous success of online gambling simply sprung up because the internet was cheaper and not an amalgamation of factors that ultimately made gambling online much more viable – but for those gambling companies who were able to channel this digital big bang, the potential became apparent very quickly.
Where Do Dumbphones Enter The Equation?
Back in the 2000s, it was all about which technological development could make our phones the most convenient—the only device we needed to do anything and everything.
The modern smartphone has so much capability that it’s rendered a whole range of individual devices surplus to requirements. GPS has replaced road maps. Calculators are on our phones. We no longer have to carry digital cameras—unless you’re doing it to look quirky on Instagram now and again. That’s despite the astonishing quality of smartphone cameras in the modern age.
Dumbphones mark a positive development, as it’s starting to show that smartphone technological innovations have hit a ceiling. People spend, on average, 4.8 hours a day on their phones, which is nearly a third of their waking day. It’s an astonishing statistic, and if a digital detox is something you want to explore, the dumbphone is tailor-made as a test device to help you keep your mobile for essentials.
More people are waking up to the idea that this amount of time looking at a smartphone for such vast periods of the day is necessarily a good idea, which is why dumbphones are starting to surge in popularity again. It’s also important to remember that dumbphones aren’t a new invention but a reinvention of old ideas from the early 2000s.
How Will Gaming Companies React?
Gaming companies adapt to market changes; they’re led by consumer demand. So, they will be monitoring the dumbphone’s growth to ascertain whether they are a fad or whether they’ll need to reshape their approach to how the market and design their gaming ideas.
The market will reach $10 billion by the end of 2024. However, comparatively, the smartphone industry is worth about 50 times that figure. I will say that the only places I’ve heard about people who have dumbphones are people who have posted that they have them on their social media channels. So, while they might not be doom-scrolling as often, they’re still seeking social media platforms via other routes.
Another critical factor to weigh up is that dumbphones might be able to detach us from the constant buzz of our smartphones and everything they offer, but if you can’t receive pictures, you can’t access your online banking to send quick payments, you can’t take a photo to show somewhere where you are, or send a GPS ping if you’re lost, you can’t track the phone if you lose it like you can with a find my iPhone feature.
So, while it might be a bit edgy and different to have a dumbphone, its practicality, especially in 2024, gives us the impression that it’s just a fad. At most, it will not become a big enough part of the industry for the gaming industry to make any serious changes.
EDITOR NOTE: This is a promoted post and should not be considered an editorial endorsement
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