Shipments of smartphones that cost between $100 to $200 are on the rise in Africa, defying a general slump in shipments caused by skyrocketing inflation, global supply chain woes and economic uncertainties.
The segment’s share of shipments rose from 41.6 percent in quarter 3 2022, to 43.8 percent in quarter 4 2022 as vendors raced to launch affordable smartphones with premium features targeting youthful customers.
Insights from the International Data Corporation (IDC) show that while competition in the entry-level market segment heated up in 2022, incumbent (Transsion-owned) brands Tecno, Infinix and Itel lost some ground to rivals, both new and old.
Transsion, the market leader with a strong portfolio of entry-level devices recorded a drop in its combined share from 47.9 percent to 43.4 percent, as second-placed Samsung gained significantly from a low of 19.6 percent.
Transsion, the producer of Tecno and Infinix brands, is Africa’s top maker of cell phones.
“Samsung took second place with a 28.7 percent share thanks to the strong performance of its A04 model,” IDC said in its March 2023 quarterly mobile phone tracker report.
A comparative analysis by research firm Canalys placed Samsung’s market share even higher at 33 percent against Transsion’s 49 percent, with Xiaomi at 6 percent and Chinese brand Realme in fourth place with 3 percent. According to Canalys, Realme recorded the largest annual growth rate of 71percent by November 2022.
“We are seeing a surge in sales from our entry-level segment, a pointer that reflects a growing demand for functional devices that are also affordable,” said Realme Kenya PR & Marketing Manager Mildred Agoya in a recent statement.
In 2022, Realme aggressively pushed its entry-level smartphones under the brand’s C-series range in the Kenyan market. It laid out a new plan to appeal to young customers by increasing its research and development budget by 58 percent to bolster technology innovation and the quality of its affordable smartphones.
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