{"id":641000,"date":"2026-04-27T15:59:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T13:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=641000"},"modified":"2026-04-27T16:00:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T14:00:41","slug":"chinese-smartphone-maker-oppo-growing-market-share-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/gadgets\/641000-chinese-smartphone-maker-oppo-growing-market-share-in-south-africa.html","title":{"rendered":"Chinese smartphone maker Oppo growing market share in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Oppo South Africa says the government’s scrapping of the luxury excise tax on smartphones priced under R2,500 has helped it grow its market share in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The South African arm of the Chinese electronics maker told MyBroadband that the removal of the tax has brought more consumers into the market and aligns well with its pricing strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Communications minister Solly Malatsi led the way in the removal of the tax, telling MyBroadband that the plan was “one of my obsessions.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our calculations showed<\/a> that removing the tax has reduced the cost of entry-level smartphones under R2,500 by up to R211.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November 2025, Malatsi said<\/a> that the scrapping of the tax had increased the number of first-time smartphone buyers in South Africa by 16%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oppo offers several smartphones under R2,500 through its own brand and its Realme sub-brand in South Africa. The company is working to position itself as a leader in entry-level smartphones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These devices are often available at retailers like Vodacom, Pep, and Mr Price and include the Realme Note 60 series, the Realme Note 50, and devices in the Oppo A-series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Realme Note 50 handsets can go for as low as R1,299 at vendors in South Africa after the ad valorem<\/em> excise was scrapped in April 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June 2025, the company brought out the Realme Note 60x at an initial retail price of R1,599. It comes with 64GB storage space, a 90Hz high refresh rate screen and a slim design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Oppo side, the latest entry-level device in South Africa is the A6x, which launched at the end of 2024 and features a segment-leading 5,000mAh battery and 4GB of RAM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has also entered the premium market flagship Find series. It launched the Find X9 Pro in November 2025 at R29,999, featuring one of the largest batteries available in the market.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oppo sees growth in Africa ahead of the memory crunch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Marketing material from Oppo, showcasing the Oppo Reno 15 Pro, which is available in South Africa. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Oppo said that South Africa has been a key contributor to its growth across the continent, with 17% market share growth in its African markets in the first quarter of 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“South Africa has been a key contributor to that growth, supported by a favourable policy environment, including the removal of the luxury excise tax on smartphones priced below R2,500,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In South Africa specifically, Oppo has a market share of around 6% in the postpaid market. It said it is now one of the top 5 smartphone brands locally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We have built this position through a deliberate focus on delivering strong specifications at accessible price points,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“With the majority of our portfolio priced to meet the everyday South African consumer.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To expand its market share in South Africa, Oppo is focusing on three strategic pillars in 2026, all revolving around creating more access to its mobile phones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our 2026 strategy in South Africa is centred on three pillars: omnichannel distribution, product relevance, and consumer education,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are expanding our presence across traditional retail and digital channels, ensuring that South African consumers can access Oppo devices wherever they shop.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company explained that its focus for the remainder of 2026 is to strengthen its after-sales services, a move that aligns with recent strategies from rivals like Vivo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said that it plans to continue bringing “premium-grade quality to consumers across our entry-level, mid-tier, and flagship ranges.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“At Oppo, every device is built to the same standard of durability, including our industry-leading drop and water resistance.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has been one of the hardest hit by the global memory crunch compared to some of its peers. According to Bloomberg<\/a>, Oppo’s year-on-year shipments for March declined significantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citing research from market tracker IDC, the memory supply crunch and the war in Iran are expected to raise smartphone prices and constrain industry growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of March 2026, the overall smartphone market slumped 4.1% \u2014\u00a0the first time this has happened since 2023. IDC analysts have said the first-quarter slump is a “mild precursor.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Like all smartphone manufacturers globally, OPPO is closely monitoring the ongoing shortage of memory components and its impact on the industry,” the company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Component costs continue to rise month by month, and we are navigating these pressures carefully.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Government’s scrapping of the 9% luxury tax on smartphones has helped Oppo become one of the top 5 sellers in South Africa. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341213,"featured_media":641001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[87031,104532,104413,73726,104530,104531,104529,76862,46786],"class_list":["post-641000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gadgets","tag-ad-valorem-tax","tag-oppo-a6x","tag-oppo-find-x9-pro","tag-realme","tag-realme-note-50","tag-realme-note-60x","tag-smartphone-luxury-excise-tax","tag-solly-malatsi","tag-vivo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641000"}],"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\/341213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=641000"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":641296,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641000\/revisions\/641296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/641001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=641000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=641000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=641000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}