The smartphone markets in many regions around the world are saturated. Africa is not one of those regions. Africa has a fast growing combined smartphone market, and it is far from being saturated. Which smartphone brands operate on the continent and which are the top smartphone brands in Africa in 2020?
Africa is home to many smartphone brands, including the following the following:
- TECNO Mobile (a Transsion company)
- Infinix Mobility (a Transsion company)
- itel Mobile (a Transsion company)
- Samsung Mobile
- Huawei
- Honor (a Huawei company)
- Xiaomi
- Redmi (a Xiaomi company)
- Nokia Mobile
- OPPO Mobile
- Leagoo
- Vivo
- ZTE
- Apple iPhone
- Olla
- Gionee Mobile
- Partner Mobile
- Mara Phone
- HiSense
- Mobicel
- LG Mobile
- Motorola Mobility
Besides the above 22 smartphone brands, there are a number of other smaller players supplying smartphones to markets around the continent. But it is from among the above-listed manufacturers that the top smartphone brands in Africa emerge.
Which Are The Top Smartphone Brands In Africa?
The news is that there have been no major upsets in the last few years. The same smartphone brands that have topped the charts in Africa since 2018 are still right where they are. In other words, Transsion is still dominating the landscape. Let’s have a look at the list of top 5 smartphone brands in Africa:
- Transsion: 36.7% market share (this includes TECNO, Infinix, and itel)
- Samsung: 18.8% market share
- Huawei: 11.1% market share (includes both Huawei and Honor phone brands)
- OPPO: 5.9%
- Xiaomi: 4.9% (includes both Xiaomi and Redmi phone brands)
If the brands for Transsion were separated and listed individually by IDC, we would have OPPO and Xiaomi pushed off the top 5 list. But Transsion brands are listed under their umbrella brand and so we get to see how new entrants, OPPO and Xiaomi, are performing on the continent. Not bad at all. They have put on a commendable show to have pushed back several old players in order to secure spots in the top 5.
If you are curious to know how TECNO, Infinix, and itel are really standing, we can refer to IDC figures from Q4, 2019. That will place TECNO roughly at par with Samsung. A breakdown of the other two Transsion brands will place itel Mobile at 13%, and Infinix at around 4.9%.
Put together, the above-listed top smartphone brands in Africa make up 77.4% of the continent’s smartphone market, leaving the others to scramble for the remaining 22.6%.
Apart from Samsung, which is a Korean brand, the African smartphone market is properly dominated by Chinese smartphone brands. We doubt that there is any surprise there; the global smartphone market is dominated by these same brands.
Veteran, Nokia, is not putting up a good show at all. Again, it has failed to appear in the list of top smartphone brands in Africa, having dropped off years ago. Gionee’s travails have made it a non-contender, while brands like LG and Motorola have exited key African markets years ago.
Olla was introduced this year but seem to have faded off as fast as they arrived. Was it a blow from COVID-19, or was it some other issue? Time will tell. For now, Transsion continues to dominate the African market and still sits comfortably as the top smartphone brands in Africa in 2020.
This updated list of the top 10 smartphone brands in Africa in 2020 gives a more complete view of how phone makers active on the continent stand, with TECNO taking the number one spot.