Android 16 rolls out early in Kenya as smartphone focus shifts to longevity

Android 16 has begun appearing in Kenyan retail channels earlier than expected, marking one of the first markets globally to see devices shipping with the new version of Google’s mobile operating system, according to industry information shared on Wednesday .

The early rollout comes at a time when Kenya’s smartphone market is showing signs of maturity.

Android now accounts for more than 90 per cent of mobile operating system usage in the country, with tens of millions of smartphones in active use.

As replacement cycles lengthen, consumer priorities are shifting away from raw performance figures towards durability, battery life and long-term software support .

This change is also influencing how smartphone hardware is being designed. New mid-range processors such as MediaTek’s Dimensity 7100, built using a 6-nanometre manufacturing process, are designed to emphasise sustained performance, thermal efficiency and power management rather than peak benchmark scores.

The approach allows manufacturers to combine large batteries with 5G connectivity while reducing overheating and excessive power drain, challenges that have affected earlier designs.

The Dimensity 7100 is expected to make its first commercial appearance globally in a smartphone entering the Kenyan market in the coming weeks.

Industry observers view this as an indication that manufacturers are rethinking cost-effective smartphones around everyday reliability rather than short bursts of high performance.

Alongside these hardware changes, manufacturers are increasingly adopting broader frameworks to describe device quality.

One such approach looks beyond traditional measures such as speed and camera resolution to include factors like endurance, stability, reliability, long-term usability and software intelligence.

In practice, this translates into phones designed to remain functional and secure over several years of use, rather than focusing solely on headline specifications.

For Kenyan users, these shifts have practical implications. Long commutes, limited access to charging points and periodic power interruptions mean battery endurance is often critical to daily use.

Extended software support also reduces the need for frequent upgrades, lowering long-term ownership costs while improving security for users who keep their devices longer.

An Infinix Kenya spokesperson said the company has observed a change in how consumers evaluate smartphones locally, noting that buyers are increasingly asking how long a device will remain useful rather than how fast it is at launch .

The convergence of early Android 16 adoption, efficiency-focused chip design and longer update commitments suggests a broader shift in smartphone priorities, both in Kenya and in other emerging markets where reliability and longevity often outweigh incremental performance gains.

One of the first devices reflecting this trend is the Infinix NOTE Edge, which is set to be among the earliest phones available locally running Android 16 on the Dimensity 7100 platform.