In Russia will never be able to create a "sovereign" smartphone: experts explained why

Following the application for "import substitution", even local experts doubt the ability to create a Russian smartphone that could have been successful with the consumer. One of the largest IT companies in Russia, the National Computer Corporation (NKC), stated that she was going to release and sell 100,000 "sovereign" smartphones and tablets by the end of 2023, Wired reports. The publication interviewed experts from the Russian Federation, what they think about it.

It turned out that they did not believe in the success of the "sovereign" smartphone. For its part, the NCC plans to invest $ 130 million in this project and hopes to seize at least 10% of the Russian gadget market by 2026.

However, the experts of the Russian market remain open: what OS will sovereign devices function? If the "enemy" android OS, then probably the US will immediately block access to Google Services, as it happened with Huawei (after which the profit of the Chinese company fell by 30% last year - ed. ). If the "domestic" Aurora OS (which is built on the Finnish Sailfish OS - ed. ), Ayya T1 phones have been sold since 2022, but they have not yet gained popularity.

In addition, in December, the Russian government refused to allocate $ 292 million intended for the development of the Russian operating system. Another problem is the experts "iron" - the chips needed for smartphones. China and Russia have long been under US sanctions, and to expect that the Chinese will allocate their capacity to order for Russian smartphones.

By the way, SmartekoSistema, owned by the State Giant "Rostekh", still cannot release the Ayya T2 model because Taiwanese manufacturer of TSMC chips refused to cooperate with them after the USA, Japan and the Netherlands have introduced another package Attack on Ukraine. In addition, local analysts do not believe in the commercial success of the whole idea. Even if it is possible to create some "sovereign" smartphone, it will be purchased only by "turbo patriots".

Others simply will not understand why they move from the usual and cheaper Xiaomi, Realmi or Oppo on the "original Russian" analogue, which will essentially be collected from Chinese components at the local plant. And the parallel market did not go anywhere. Wealthy Russians continue to buy on the "gray" imports the same sanctions iPhone and Samsung, although they began to be much more expensive than before.