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Since invading Ukraine a year ago, Russia has faced an exodus of technology companies and services. This includes the withdrawal of his two most popular smartphone brands in the world, Samsung and Apple. In response, the country doubled down its efforts to achieve technological self-sufficiency, including creating new Android smartphones.
The yet-to-be-named phone will be manufactured by one of Russia’s largest IT companies, the National Computer Corporation (NCC), with an ambitious goal of selling 100,000 smartphones and tablets by the end of 2023. . The NCC founder told local media on Monday that he aims to invest 10 billion rubles ($132.9 million) in the project, which will increase his share of the consumer market by 2026. He said he hopes to get the 10%.
The news comes just days after the U.S. Department of Commerce banned the export of phones and other electronic devices worth $300 or more to Russia. But experts say it will be difficult for Russian smartphones to beat cheaper Chinese competitors, and problems can arise with Google’s Android.
Jan Stryak, associate director of industry analyst firm Counterpoint Research, said: “You may need to switch your phone to another OS.”
Google no longer offers paid apps or updates to those apps to users in Russia. However, it did not stop Russians from using free services such as Gmail, Maps, Play and YouTube. Google did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for comment on the Russian company using Android.
The new smartphone project is just one of Russia’s many attempts at technological self-sufficiency and digital sovereignty. The state has pledged an “unprecedented” amount of money to develop the electronics industry, which is luring Russian companies. But not everyone is convinced that government subsidies will lead to new products, or whether products like NCC’s phone will succeed.
“Honestly, to my knowledge, it looks like a PR stunt,” says Karen Kazaryan, general director and founder of the Internet Research Institute, of NCC’s smartphone project.
Essentially, this digital sovereignty implies a state’s control over the internet within its borders, including content, data and infrastructure, allowing governments to separate a country’s online sphere from the rest of the world. The Russian government began pushing this idea after sanctions following the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
