While renowned brands still make the top ten, the best selling phone in South Africa 2023 in the last quarter will surprise. You may not even have heard of the name if you are not keen on smartphone brands.
According to data from Counterpoint Research, new brand Honor was the best selling phone in South Africa in the last quarter of 2023. They shipped so many smartphones that that quarter alone propelled them to the second best selling phone brand overall in the year just behind Samsung.
This is despite the fact that just a year earlier, Honor was an unknown brand and hadn’t made significant sales throughout the year.
List of the best selling phone in South Africa
Regular market leader Samsung still led the pack in smartphone shipments but its market share reduced significantly by about 6 percent.
Meanhwile, new entrant Honor overtook Transsion brand Tecno following an aggressive mareting campaign that saw its market share grow by 1000 percent.
Just like the rest of the world, South Africa experienced a high growth in the demand of high end smartphones by about 29 percent.
More and more people across the world are buying premium phones because of what they offer in the long run in terms of longevity and superb specs.
This is a change from when the African market was heavily driven by demand for cheaper smartphones just about four years ago.
“In line with global trends, consumer preference in the country is shifting towards premium (>$800) smartphones. The segment saw an increase of 57% YoY, driven mainly by Apple which grew 83% during the year. The $150-$249 price band grew 26% YoY, as lower-end consumers (sub-$100) are upgrading their devices due to the higher value proposition offered by mid-range smartphones. “ ~ Counterpoint Research
To put it in perspective, however, most of the smartphone brands expanded their market share and increased their shipments.
“Honor was the fastest-growing brand during the last quarter and secured the leading position with a 24% share of the market. The HONOR Magic 4 Lite 5G and HONOR X6 models were its volume drivers. Other Chinese OEMs, including Xiaomi, TECNO and, also aggressively expanded in the market, with their shipments increasing by 86%, 80%, and 93% respectively.
Below is the list of best selling phone in South Africa 2023:
- Samsung
- Honor
- Xiaomi
- Tecno
- Hisense
- Itel
- Others
