• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Tech

Meet Walmart’s $10 Smartphone

By
Kif Leswing
Kif Leswing
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kif Leswing
Kif Leswing
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 17, 2015, 12:05 PM ET
Walmart

Nobody’s going to mistake it for an iPhone, but a device that quietly signals a sea change in the mobile industry has gone on sale at Walmart (WMT). For less than $10, you can purchase a smartphone made by LG that runs a full version of Android and has access to the Google Play App Store.

That’s right—Walmart is now selling smartphones for less than you might have paid for your lunch. As you could probably guess from its price, it’s not a top of the line model. The display is a tiny 3.8-inches running at 480×320 resolution, which means users are going to be able to distinguish individual pixels on its screen. It uses a low-end Qualcomm Snapdragon chip and there’s no front-facing camera, so selfies are going to be a challenge. There are two versions depending on which wireless network you want to use it on.

It’s running a version of Android from 2013, and it’s not likely to get a lot of software updates. So it’s not the latest and greatest. But look at it this way—it’s more powerful than the original iPhone.

Of course, there’s a catch to any deal like this one. Amazon sells the same device for $50, meaning that the Walmart’s price might simply be a sale. Also, the LG15 can only be used on TracFone, a prepaid carrier owned by Carlos Slim, for its first year. TracFone might be taking a loss on the device itself in order to reap service fees down the line.

MORE: Walmart Earnings and Consumer Prices—5 Things to Know Today

But there’s no contract when you buy this LG phone. So if you never expect to take a call or send a text, you can buy this device, connect it to a Wi-Fi network, and use it like a 4-inch tablet. Users will be able to surf the Internet, send emails, and play games like Candy Crush. It may be the most inexpensive way to connect someone to the Internet.

And at $10, you could purchase five for the same price as Amazon’s least expensive tablet and leave them around the house. You could purchase this phone, install the Roku app, and leave it on your couch as your remote control. It comes with a MicroSD card slot, so you could load a card in there and use it as a dedicated media player.

The LG15 is a sign that the mobile market in the United States is catching up to the rest of the world. Other countries, such as India, have offered smartphones at rock-bottom pricing for about the past year, although the price ends up being closer to $30 than $10. The low-end of the smartphone market is its fastest-growing segment. Even major brands like Motorola have released cheap smartphones, although they haven’t gone as low as $10. Google (GOOG) has a program, Android One, focused on standardizing hardware on the very low-end.

In the U.S., consumers have been shielded from the true cost of a high-end smartphone by carriers that “subsidize” the price through expensive two-year contracts. But as carriers end that practice, more and more consumers will start choosing $10 or $50 or $100 devices over phones like the $600 Samsung Galaxy S6.

So while Walmart’s $10 smartphone might be the first device to hit that price point, it won’t be the last.

Sign up for Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology.

For more Fortune coverage of Walmart, watch this video:

About the Author
By Kif Leswing
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

elon
SuccessIPOs
SpaceX IPO targets $28.5 trillion total addressable market, mission to ‘make life multiplanetary’ and understand ‘true nature of the universe’
By Nick LichtenbergMay 20, 2026
4 minutes ago
Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia
AINvidia
Nvidia gets tepid reaction to forecast, boosts investor rewards
By Ian King and BloombergMay 20, 2026
26 minutes ago
SpaceX finally files IPO prospectus, reveals revenue is up–but losses are too
Big TechSpaceX
SpaceX finally files IPO prospectus, reveals revenue is up–but losses are too
By Allie GarfinkleMay 20, 2026
36 minutes ago
Elon Musk sits with his fists together, looking up.
Commentaryspace
SpaceX will be worth trillions, but the space station that made it possible is worth even more — if we don’t squander it
By Tejpaul BhatiaMay 20, 2026
49 minutes ago
Antler CEO Magnus Grimeland says Silicon Valley doesn’t have a monopoly on tech: ‘People can innovate from almost anywhere’
AsiaAsia Agenda
Antler CEO Magnus Grimeland says Silicon Valley doesn’t have a monopoly on tech: ‘People can innovate from almost anywhere’
By Angelica AngMay 20, 2026
59 minutes ago
Clinical Psychologist Daniel Wendler
ConferencesWorkplace Innovation Summit
A ‘proudly autistic’ workplace expert says putting neurodivergent employees in a typical office is like dropping a polar bear in Austin, Texas
By Tristan BoveMay 20, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
Future of Work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
3 days ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
8 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
Travel & Leisure
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
By Rio Yamat and The Associated PressMay 18, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of silver as of Tuesday,  May 19, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, May 19, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 19, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.