Safaricom introduces affordable 4G-enabled smartphones in Kenya

Safaricom has introduced a smartphone campaign by launching the cheapest 4G-enabled smartphones, Neon Ray and Neon Nova, in Kenya. The introduction of the smartphones is intended to offer a digital experience for those who do not have smartphones.

15 May 2019

Image source: Gallo/Getty.

The chief customer officer at Safaricom, Sylvia Mulinge, said, “At Safaricom, we aim to transform lives by providing solutions to our customers. With these affordable phone options that will allow our customers to enjoy the superior digital experience without stretching their finances. The new 3G and 4G Neon phones will be an advancement towards inclusivity.”

Since its partnership with Google, it will allow the company to have access to the Android Oreo for entry-level smartphones with improved Google apps with lower memory, storage, and data.

On the other hand, the director of Africa Android Partnership, Google, Mahir Sahin, stated, “Android’s mission has always been to bring the power of computing to everyone, and part of that is ensuring a great experience across the broadest range of devices. Android Oreo (Go edition) is specifically optimised to bring the magic of Google and Android to smartphones with limited memory and processing power, and we’re excited to see Safaricom joining that mission by launching the Neon Storm, Neon Ray and Neon Rova phones on Android Oreo (Go edition).”

The 4G-enabled Neon Ray runs on Android Go and costs 39.54 USD (KES 3,999); while Neon Nova runs on 9.0 and costs 59.31 USD (KES 5,999). Customers can purchase the smartphones at Safaricom agents and via online on the company’s e-commerce platform, Masoko.