First smartphone in pakistan: Pakistan has always lagged behind India, even if it is not a matter of technology. Leave it all, even if you talk about smartphones, Pakistan is far behind India. This debate has been picked up on the Internet that first of all, the smartphone had entered its entry in the country. Smartphone first came in India or in Pakistan? Let us tell you about it.
Let us tell you in this article when did the first smartphone in Pakistan come to Pakistan? What was its price and how did technology spread their foot in Pakistan?
Pakistan’s first smartphone
According to several reports, the first smartphone in Pakistan came in the end of 2008 or early 2009. However, this gadget was available only in big cities like Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and its initial price was so high that only a few people could buy it.
But these were not the smartphones that we know today, such as iOS based iPhone and Android phones. The first smartphones in Pakistan were from Nokia, who used Symbian OS, besides Blackberry and Windows Mobile. The arrival of today’s smartphone started after 2010 and the first Android -based smartphone in Pakistan was HTC One, in July 2013 by mobile network provider Mobilink (now known as Jazz).
The launch price of HTC One was around 72,000 PKR (about ₹ 21,674), which was a big amount at that time and only a few people could buy it.
How did the access to smartphone increase in Pakistan?
As mentioned earlier, for the first time smartphones came in Pakistan in 2008-2009, but due to their high prices, the common Pakistani could not buy them. However, after the arrival of the iPhone and after 2012, after the development of Android-based smartphones by companies like Huawei, Samsung and Local Companies like QMOBILE, cheap smartphone started coming to the market, which increased their reach among the common people.
With the advent of 3G and 4G services after 2014, the use of the Internet rose globally, including Pakistan, resulting in more and more Pakistani citizens buying smartphones.
Smartphone prices in Pakistan
Like the rest of the world, smartphone prices were very high in Pakistan. A top brand smartphone was available between 70,000 to 80,000 (about ₹ 22,000), which was enough to buy a mid-level motorcycle such as Bajaj Pulsar or Hero Honda in India at that time.
Currently, Vivo is the best -selling smartphone brand in Pakistan. Vivo surpassed Infinix in early 2025, which had 16.53 percent in the market at the end of 2024. However, Infinix still remains a popular smartphone brand in Pakistan, especially due to its affordable prices. Apart from this, brands like Vivo, Samsung and Oppo are also very popular in Pakistan.
