The best-selling smartphone in South Africa

A report by Counterpoint has revealed the best-selling smartphones in South Africa in 2018 – with Samsung and Mobicel leading the pack.

Counterpoint said that smartphone shipments increased by 7% year-on-year locally in 2018.

“The increasing affordability of the smartphones and cheaper 4G mobile data plans by telecom operators were the key reasons behind the growth,” stated the report.

Brands like Samsung, Mobicel, and Huawei are offering an array of entry-level smartphones, which have been bundled with tariff plans for urban and rural users – catering to the South African market.

“There are more than 40 smartphone brands who sell their products in South Africa and of these, 30 offer products for less than $100,” stated the report.

This price-segment generates the highest sales volumes in the country, it added.

Best-selling smartphones

The report stated that Mobicel became the second-largest smartphone brand in South Africa during 2018, and its Astro was the top-selling smartphone in the country.

The Android Go device was unveiled in South Africa in 2018, and features 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, and a 4-inch LCD display.

Other best-selling phones included the Nokia 1 and Samsung Galaxy J2 Core, added the report.

In terms of overall brand market share, however, Samsung is the best-performing company in the country – commanding 32% of the market.

This helped Android achieve a market share of 92% locally in 2018, followed by iOS on 7%.

The table below details the findings of the report.

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