From next year, major mobile companies will end the 3G communication mainly used in mobile phones called "feature phones".

Many companies are saying that they want to use a mobile phone that can be operated with a button like a "feature phone" even in 4G, so they are trying to catch the demand by launching a foldable mobile phone.

Of these, au's KDDI will end 3G communication at the end of March next year, and is calling on users to change to models that support 4G and 5G.



From this month, we started selling a new foldable mobile phone that supports 4G.



Designed by Casio Computer, it features enhanced waterproof function and durability.



4G and 5G are mainly smartphones, but foldable mobile phones called "feature phones" that are operated by buttons are used not only for elderly people but also for agricultural and construction sites where they often work with gloves. It has a deep-rooted popularity.

Among the major mobile phones, Softbank has decided to end in January 2024 and NTT DoCoMo has decided to end in March 2026, but both companies are selling 4G-compatible button-operated mobile phones in order to capture such demand.



While smartphones are becoming more widespread, we anticipate that there will be a certain amount of demand for these foldable mobile phones in the future, and each company is focusing on sales.