In the world of technology, especially in the smartphone industry, the reality is constantly changing. Samsung and Apple will always remain at the top, and other brands will come and go. This is the case with Huawei, which went from being in the first place to almost disappearing.
You might not have heard of Transsion, but the Chinese phone manufacturer has been quietly making a name for itself in recent years. While it’s not well-known in Europe, it has become a significant player in Africa and emerging markets over the past decade.
Throughout this year, Transsion has established itself as one of the top five smartphone manufacturers, gaining market share from Apple and Samsung.
Growth data of Transsion: Where are they now?
A new report from Canalys on phone sales in the third quarter of 2023 shows that total sales decreased by one percentage point throughout the quarter (July, August, and September) compared to the same period in 2022.
Samsung leads the ranking with a 20% market share, Apple with 17%, Xiaomi in third place with 14%, and Oppo with 9%. In fifth place is Transsion, also with 9%, up from last year’s 6%.
That impressive growth is based on “competitive products” in “emerging markets,” according to Canalys, and the company’s analysts predict further growth for Transsion, as long as they “play their cards right.”
The report also highlights the positive impact the launch of the iPhone 15 will have on phone sales in the second half of the year and the progress Huawei is making in its home country, China.
The history of Transsion
Transsion might be a new name for many people, and it’s also relatively new as a company compared to Apple, Samsung, and Google. However, it has been around for 17 years. It was founded in 2006 in Hong Kong and initially focused its phone sales in Africa, which helped it establish a foothold in the developing market.
Now, it also sells phones in the Middle East, Latin America, and India. Most of its devices are budget-friendly, maximizing value for money. It’s reminiscent of Huawei’s early days, offering decent hardware specifications while keeping costs as low as possible.
Transsion is responsible for phone brands such as Itel, Tecno, and Infinix, and they have started to gain attention in European and American media.
Initially, the company focused on launching feature phones and didn’t manufacture a smartphone until 2014, seven years after Apple introduced the first iPhone.
With shipments of 22.7 million units in the third quarter of 2023, Transsion is now a serious player in global smartphone sales. It remains to be seen if the company executives decide to expand their operations to the American, European, and Australian markets in the future, but they have an increasingly solid foundation to build upon.
It’s impressive how in Europe and the United States, we often tend to focus inwardly, to the point where a brand selling hundreds of millions of smartphones each month isn’t even known by name or logo.
If our readers recall, POCO and Redmi, sub-brands of Xiaomi, were nothing more than Xiaomi’s attempt to enter the Indian market when no one else was tapping into the potential of the eastern country. If we look at the data of these two companies today, we can confirm that the effort and risk were worthwhile.
