One of the most dominant trends we saw in our field interviews was the sustained preference for mid-range smartphones.

The most common purchase range of many respondents interviewed across selected municipalities was ₱7,000 to ₱12,000 for smartphones.

Consumers didn't want the most expensive gadgets available; they wanted smartphones that offered the best balance of price, performance, durability, and features.

This type of buying behaviour was often exhibited by:

• Pupils
• Young professionals.
• Small-business owners
• Working families

For many of the respondents, buying a smartphone was more of a practical investment than a luxury purchase.

We also heard from our interviews that Chinese smartphone companies are gaining popularity in Visayas and Mindanao.

The brands most frequently seen during the fieldwork were:

• POCO
• TECNO
• Xiaomi
• realme
• Infinix
• vivo
• OPPO

Many respondents mentioned that these brands offer good specs at a lower price point, thus being an attractive alternative to more expensive flagship devices.

When choosing a smartphone, consumers would typically compare the camera quality, processor performance, memory capacity, battery life and display quality before making a purchase, showing that buying decisions are increasingly driven by value and not brand prestige.

Chinese smartphone brands continue to increase their penetration but Samsung remained one of the most recognised and trusted brands among respondents.

Pre-established reputation, software reliability, service centers across the country and consistent product quality made Samsung a reliable choice for many participants.

For those at the higher end of the budget, Samsung’s Galaxy A Series and Galaxy S Series were often considered for their camera quality, durability and long-term software support.

This suggests that Samsung is still benefiting from high consumer confidence, despite increasing competition in the mid-range smartphone market.

Among premium smartphone owners, the Apple iPhone continued to be the flagship of choice.

Interestingly, many owners of iPhones were not necessarily using the newest models. Several respondents said they preferred to buy last-generation iPhones instead, which gave them access to Apple’s ecosystem and performance at a lower price.

Respondents employed in: • High-end smartphones were more common among

• Government Offices
• Banks.
• Corporations
• jobs that are professional
• Household incomes in steady businesses

Less than half the students owned an iPhone, and those who did often said they had second-hand or older generation devices.

Our field researchers also reported a few respondents using Philippine smartphone brands known locally, that is, Cherry Mobile and MyPhone.

Locally branded devices accounted for a small share of smartphone ownership during the interviews—usually one respondent per ten interviews, and in some municipalities, fewer.

Respondents purchased these devices primarily because they were affordable and familiar. But a few also said they would upgrade to brands with better camera systems, faster processors, better software support and more storage when they could afford it.

The observations presented in this article are derived from the FMR’s collective field experiences in its mobile phone technology research with certain municipalities in Visayas and Mindanao.

These examples are intended to illustrate general consumer behaviour observed during the field work and are not to be understood as representative of the full results of the commissioned research.

In order to protect the confidentiality of clients and contractual obligations, some project results, identities of respondents, distribution of samples, statistical analyses, and proprietary findings have not been revealed.

The opinions expressed here show FMR’s ability to do field research and first-hand experience, while upholding the confidentiality and integrity that our clients have grown to expect.