New details have been announced in the smartphone project carried out by ASELSAN and Türk Telekom within the scope of domestic communication technologies. Türk Telekom CEO Ebubekir Şahin said that the production and testing of the domestic smartphone developed by the company with ASELSAN continues in Malatya. Şahin stated that the phone is planned to be available for sale in the first half of 2027. Şahin announced that the phone to be developed in the first stage will work with the Android operating system. Stating that it is planned to use the operating system and domestic chip technology to be developed in Türkiye in the next stages of the project, Şahin stated that a three-stage study is being carried out. Şahin said that the stages are planned to proceed approximately one year apart.
PRODUCTION AND TESTING IN MALATYA
It was stated that the production and testing of the domestic phone continues in the facility in Malatya.. Şahin said that the first phone is aimed to be offered for sale in the first half of 2027. In the first phase of the project, which was announced to the public in May, ASELSAN and Türk Telekom collaborated to develop hardware and software to be used in user devices and communication infrastructure, as well as domestic smartphones.
ISTANBUL WAS ANNOUNCED FOR PRODUCTION
A different statement was made about the production location of the project in August. Turkish World Business Council President Aydın Erkoç said in August that a factory was planned to be established in Istanbul for the mass production of domestic phones.. Erkoç stated that three different models were being worked on and the production facility would be established in Istanbul. In September, Türk Telekom CEO Ebubekir Şahin announced that production and testing studies were continuing at the facility in Malatya. No new details were shared about whether the facility in Malatya will be used as a mass production center or which phase of the project the previously announced investment in Istanbul relates to.
THREE DIFFERENT MODELS ARE PLANNED
It was stated that three different phone models were being worked on within the scope of the project announced in August. It is planned that one of the models will be aimed at a wide consumer base and the other one will be aimed at the upper segment. The third model is aimed to have encrypted communication features for use in public institutions.. Aydın Erkoç announced that it was planned to have a satellite connection in the phones. He stated that this feature is intended to be used to maintain communication in disaster situations when the mobile communication infrastructure cannot be used.
ASELSAN HARDWARE WILL BE UNDERTAKING
The task distribution of the companies was also determined in the project. It is planned that ASELSAN will take part in the hardware and production side, and Türk Telekom will take part in the software, content, marketing, distribution and branding activities. Şahin stated that Türk Telekom has 606 dealers and 57 million customers and said that the company’s distribution network will be used in the sales of the new phone.
WORK HAS STARTED ON THE BRAND NAME
The brand name of the local phone has not been determined yet. Şahin said that studies are continuing to determine the brand name and a presentation is planned to be made to the Presidency at the end of 2026. It was stated that hundreds of name suggestions are planned to be reduced to five names through tests and surveys. The strategic cooperation announced by ASELSAN and Türk Telekom in May does not only include smartphone production.. The two companies are working to develop hardware and software to be used in communication infrastructures as well as user devices in Türkiye. While the first domestic smartphone is planned to be available for sale in the first half of 2027, the aim is to develop the domestic operating system and domestic chip technology in the following stages.
