KaiOS Technologies has announced that six new partners in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Kenya South Africa, and Tanzania will launch mobile phones running on its operating system for smart feature phones, KaiOS. The company said that the devices will form a new category of phones that combine the affordability of a feature phone with the essential features of a smartphone. In the near future, KaiOS handsets will be available across Africa to customers of both MTN and Orange.
KaiOS-powered 3G/4G handsets will come preinstalled with the KaiStore, and several apps and services including the Google Assistant, Facebook, Google Maps, YouTube, and Twitter.
The new smart feature phones will be available for direct purchase by end-users who have their own Sim cards, or as part of bundled packages with local MNOs. The companies will go to market from the second quarter of this year through distribution agreements with Access in Morocco; Bomare and Condor in Algeria; Eric Beare Associates – a Hong Kong based company operational in Egypt, South Africa, and other African markets; Maya Global Network which is operational across Africa particularly in Kenya and Tanzania; and Sico in Egypt. Over 80M KaiOS-powered phones have been shipped to more than 100 countries.
The operating system is based on open web technologies such as HTML5 and supports 3G and 4G/LTE, as well as Wi-Fi, GPS, and NFC. Devices running on KaiOS require little memory but can still provide access to apps like Google Assistant, YouTube, Facebook, Google Maps, and Twitter.