{"id":632892,"date":"2026-03-16T17:02:57","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T15:02:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=632892"},"modified":"2026-03-16T19:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T17:30:13","slug":"one-of-south-africas-only-successful-smartphone-brands-takes-a-slip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/smartphones\/632892-one-of-south-africas-only-successful-smartphone-brands-takes-a-slip.html","title":{"rendered":"One of South Africa’s only successful smartphone brands stumbles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africa’s most successful smartphone brand had a stable 2025 despite increased competition from Chinese rivals and pressure from higher component import costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded by Polokwane-born Ridhwan Khan nearly two decades ago, Mobicel has become a formidable brand, especially among budget-conscious phone buyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In mobile network operators’ sales, Mobicel has frequently featured among the top five best-selling brands in South Africa, alongside the likes of Samsung, Honor, Huawei, and Apple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company’s success is especially noteworthy when considering how many other phone firms have come and gone over the last decade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Mobicel’s name was strangely absent in the latest feedback from the country’s two largest mobile networks \u2014 Vodacom and MTN \u2014 about their top-selling brands in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MyBroadband asked Mobicel, mobile networks, and major budget phone retailers about the brand’s performance in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mobicel said that its sales remained “stable” compared to 2024, with steady demand in the entry-level and budget smartphone segments despite broader market pressures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We held our position as a key player in prepaid channels, aligned with all major network operators and retailers in the country,” the company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our performance stems from competitive pricing, with smartphones from R699 to R2,399, and better affordability for mass-market consumers.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mobicel said its economic challenges, like currency volatility, were offset by thin margins and strong retailer partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company said that the government’s push for affordable tech helped mitigate import cost hikes, while its focus on transitioning from 3G devices to 4G devices sustained volumes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following lobbying by the communications department, the National Treasury scrapped the ad valorem<\/em> duty on smartphones valued under R2,500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mobicel said its top-selling smartphone during the year was the IX Plus, a R1,999 model featuring a 6.8-inch display, 8GB RAM, 50MP rear camera, and a 5,000mAh battery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Launched in early 2024, it gained traction through nationwide retail availability and appeals to budget-conscious users seeking premium features,” Mobicel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mobicel highlighted that local smartphone brands must navigate global supply chain issues, including a severe memory chip shortage, which has raised component costs in excess of 30%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Looking ahead, Mobicel has exciting, innovative device launches, and we’re optimistic about 5G entry-level growth and potential policy support for accessible devices,” the company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partners generally positive about Mobicel performance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

MTN South Africa said Mobicel’s devices continued to play an important role in its entry-level portfolio in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It described Mobicel’s sales as “relatively stable” while reflecting broader market dynamics in the affordable smartphone segment, including increased competition and changing customer preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In 2025, customers increasingly sought devices with stronger performance capabilities, larger storage, improved cameras, and longer battery life,” MTN said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As a result, brands that refreshed their portfolios more frequently and offered higher specifications at competitive price points saw stronger uptake across the market.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MTN said its biggest seller in the Mobicel range in 2025 was the F51, which is an entry-level 4G smartphone with a 5.0-inch display, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, and a 2,000mAh battery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pepkor, which reported making up roughly eight in every 10 phones sold in South Africa, also told MyBroadband that Mobicel remained one of its top five suppliers by units, but its sales had declined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The retailer believes the reduction was due to several factors, including increased competition from other entry-level brands, like its own Stylo brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another factor was mobile networks shifting subsidies to other brands. “At these entry-level price points, subsidies are critical for sales,” Pepkor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pepkor also contends that the brand was a major factor. “Tier-two brands struggle to gain market share because they lack Samsung’s marketing budget, forcing them to compete on price alone,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This challenge affects many Chinese challenger brands in South Africa, such as Oppo and Vivo, and is not unique to local brands like Mobicel.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these issues, Pepkor maintains that a value-driven brand like Mobicel would always have a place in a market where affordability was a key concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The retailer had high praise for Khan, calling him a first-rate entrepreneur who has proven to be a highly reliable and collaborative supplier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“He successfully identified a gap in the market for low-cost handsets, and his best-selling products at Pep remain the E1 feature phone and the entry-level Mobicel MX2 smartphone,” Pepkor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom could not disclose sales performance “due to the competitive and commercially sensitive nature” of its sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“However, we can confirm that the devices have resonated well with the targeted customer segment,” it said.
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South Africa’s most successful smartphone brand had a stable 2025 despite increased competition from Chinese rivals and pressure from higher component import costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":633177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17934],"tags":[55380,49955,29674,42,70830,95681],"class_list":["post-632892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-smartphones","tag-affordable-smartphones","tag-budget-smartphones","tag-mobicel","tag-mtn","tag-pepkor","tag-ridhwan-khan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632892"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632892"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":633735,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632892\/revisions\/633735"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/633177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}