Safaricom is continuing its push for the uptake of 4G smartphones in Kenya with the introduction of the Neon Ray 2.
The Neon Ray 2 is the latest addition to the company’s in-house Neon budget smartphone brand which has focused on the entry-level smartphone segment in the country for over half a decade now. First with 3G and, now, with 4G.
At just Kshs 4,500, its introductory pricing, the Safaricom Neon Ray 2 is the most affordable 4G smartphone in the country and the telecommunications company would be hoping that it boosts the uptake of 4G devices the way the Neon Kicka series did for its 3G network just a few years ago.
At that price, the Neon Ray 2 undercuts the Safaricom-locked itel A23s Pro, hitherto the most affordable 4G smartphone in the country.
The Neon Ray 2 packs a 5-inch display, a plastic build (with a “scratchy” back), a 5-megapixel camera at the back and a 2-megapixel camera on the front, 1GB RAM, 16GB onboard storage and a removable 2,000mAh battery. As can be expected of 1GB RAM devices, it runs on the Go edition of Android 10. Most notably, the Neon Ray 2 supports Voice over LTE (VoLTE).
Just over a year ago, Safaricom debuted the Neon Ray Pro, a 5.5-inch device that shares a lot in common with the Neon Ray 2, with the ambitious goal of getting it on to the hands of at least 1 million Kenyans for just Kshs 20 daily.
Currently, Safaricom has 94% 4G network coverage in the country and it aims to be at 100% by year’s end.
According to Safaricom, it has over 8.5 million 4G devices on its network. Overall, 4G (and the handful of 5G) devices in the country account for just a fifth of all the devices in use across all mobile networks.
