Nigeria has the second-largest mobile market in Africa, with South Africa the only country where the devices have enjoyed greater penetration. Popular phone brands in Nigeria include the iPhone, Samsung, Tecno, Infinix, etc. Despite the popularity of some brands based on their brand name, the number of people using them isn’t as much as some others. Many times, price is a determining factor in this, apart from ease of usage and other factors.
According to data released by data company Statista (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1061355/market-share-held-by-mobile-phone-vendors-in-nigeria/) , let’s have a look at the top mobile phones with the largest market share in the country. It is a game of numbers and let’s look at those winning.
TECNO
According to market share, no phone brand comes close to Tecno, which has over 28% share of the mobile phone industry in Nigeria. When the phone brand came into the market, it had an uphill task of dislodging popular and bigger brands like Samsung and the iPhone. However, it didn’t take the company enough time to sweep the mobile phone market; from 2018 till date, it is the leading phone brand in Nigeria. One of the company’s strongest points of attraction to Nigerians is the affordability of its phones. It focused mainly on low income earners and made different products, giving end users lots of options.
Tecno has since evolved, with luxurious versions able to compete with bigger brands like Huawei and Samsung- The TECNO PHANTOM X is a good example. The Chinese manufacturer focuses solely on Asian and African markets due to their huge populations.
INFINIX
The Chinese phone brand is second on this list with about 24% market share, making it a close competitor of Tecno. Like Tecno, Infinix strength lies in selling quality phones to low/middle income earners at affordable prices.
It isn’t surprising that Infinix is growing rapidly as Tecno, as they are both owned by the same company – Transsion Holdings. Transsion Holdings is a Chinese conglomerate based in Shenzhen, China that owns TECNO Mobile, itel Mobile, Carlcare, and Oraimo. It was the largest smartphone manufacturer by sales in Africa in 2017.
The Infinix Hot and Infinix note series are two of the most popular Infinix phones in Nigeria.
SAMSUNG
Samsung has been in Nigeria for a while now and is very popular in the country. It has a market share of 11%, making it third in this list.
Samsung does have high-end products in its S range and Note series, but it also has cheaper options available – most popular is the A series. The A as well as newer cheaper models are still very sophisticated with quality features.
Among Android enabled phones, none comes close to a Samsung phone in terms of aesthetics, design and functionality. It is also the high end phone brand giving the iPhone a run for its money.
APPLE iPHONE
Despite how expensive the phone brand is, the iPhone is still used by a large number of Nigerians. It is the most popular phone brand name in Nigeria especially among millenials, lately Gen Z. The iPhone has built a name of luxury and class for itself which has seen its stock rise in Nigeria among the middle and higher class. It is also good to note that some people in the lower class are also beginning to adopt the use of the American phone brand. Most of these iPhones are UK used phones and they have good resale value – a chief reason Nigerians use the iPhone.
The availability of relatively affordable options like the iPhone 6, 7 and Series has seen Apple also take a large chunk of the mobile phone market. It currently has 9% of the mobile phone market share in Nigeria , due to how expensive the phones are.
ITEL
The Itel is another phone brand that is growing its customer usage due to how affordable its phones are and its durability. The phone is also owned by Transsion Holdings, which has really swept the mobile phone market in Nigeria. The recent innovation in their latest phones also contributed to the latest adoptions of the Itel phones. Good battery life, good camera, etc are some of these innovations. Itel has 6% market share to make it top 5 of the phone with the highest number of users right now in Nigeria
OTHERS
These phone brands have also taken their shares in the very populous Nigerian market and are fighting their way to take more shares. They are Huawei (3%), Xiaomi (2.8%), Nokia (2.1%), Gionee (2%), with Lenovo, HTC and other phones making up the rest.
Interestingly, they are all good phones and it is left for you to decide which phone you want according to your need and budget.