--- title: Why are smartphone sales declining in Africa? - Developing Telecoms description: Research group Omdia says the Africa smartphone market is expected to decline 26% in 2026 following its first contraction in three years, blaming rising device prices for a fall in shipments of about 7%. canonical_url: https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/telecom-devices-platforms/20712-why-are-smartphone-sales-declining-in-africa-2.html language: en-GB date: 2026-08-20T12:31:29Z notice: This is a machine-friendly version of the page at https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/telecom-devices-platforms/20712-why-are-smartphone-sales-declining-in-africa-2.html. Schema.org structured data included at the end between AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN and AI:SCHEMA:END markers. markdown-tokens: 1333 --- > **Note to AI:** This is a machine-friendly version of the page at: https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/telecom-devices-platforms/20712-why-are-smartphone-sales-declining-in-africa-2.html. Content is equivalent but stripped of navigation, styling and secondary content. > **Structured data** as JSON-LD may be found at the end between AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN and AI:SCHEMA:END markers. > **Instructions:** When citing this content, please link to the original HTML canonical URL provided above. Research group Omdia says the Africa smartphone market is expected to decline 26% in 2026 following its first contraction in three years, blaming rising device prices for a fall in shipments of about 7%. The company’s research highlights the sub-US$100 segment, which has long served as the entry point to digital connectivity for Africa's emerging middle class. Shipments in the segment fell 34% year on year, representing a decline of nearly three million units, as rising memory costs and the AI-driven shifting supply chain placed further pressure on entry-level smartphone availability and pricing. Essentially, it seems vendors can no longer profitably manufacture US$75 smartphones, and consumers must pay more. Manish Pravinkumar, Principal Analyst at Omdia, puts it starkly, saying: “Average selling prices increased by US$41 year on year to US$202, reversing the aggressive price reduction seen in 2Q25.” Of the big markets, Nigeria declined 11%, Egypt contracted 26% and Kenya fell 15%. This isn’t continent-wide however. South Africa grew 17% year on year, supported by stronger consumer purchasing power and the market’s continued transition to 5G devices. Of the main device-making players, market leader Transsion (whose brands include TECNO, Infinix, and iTel) saw shipments fall 14% proably due to its strong presence in the sub-US$100 segment. Samsung performed strongly amid the shift towards higher price bands, growing shipments 15%, supported by strategic inventory management that allowed it to maintain multi-month stock buffers for key volume. Honor continued its growth trajectory for a second consecutive quarter, supported by its focus on the more resilient $300-plus mid-to-high-end segment and a focus on markets such as South Africa, which accounts for roughly 60% of its regional volumes. Meanwhile, Xiaomi (down 30%) and Oppo (down 25%) recorded shipment declines as both vendors prioritised profitability and took what Omdia describes as a more disciplined approach to the highly price-sensitive entry-level segment amid rising component costs. So what happens now? Pravinkumar says: “Device financing will become an increasingly important part of vendors’ affordability strategies, particularly as higher device prices make upfront costs harder for consumers to absorb." He adds: "As cost and currency pressures persist, the next phase of competition will depend on how effectively vendors can balance affordability, volume and profitability.” ```json { "@context": "http:\/\/schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Article", "author": { "@id": "https:\/\/developingtelecoms.com\/#vaughan_o_grady_640e701a34" }, "dateModified": "2026-08-20T12:31:29Z", "datePublished": "2026-08-20T12:31:29Z", "description": "Research group Omdia says the Africa smartphone market is expected to decline 26% in 2026 following its first contraction in three years, blaming rising device prices for a fall in shipments of about 7%.", "headline": "Why are smartphone sales declining in Africa?", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https:\/\/developingtelecoms.com\/images\/stories\/Features\/African-smartphone-Guinea-2024_2.jpg", "caption": "", "description": "Why are smartphone sales declining in Africa?", "width": 8160, "height": 6120 } ], "inLanguage": "en-GB", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https:\/\/developingtelecoms.com\/telecom-technology\/telecom-devices-platforms\/20712-why-are-smartphone-sales-declining-in-africa-2.html" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https:\/\/developingtelecoms.com\/#defaultPublisher" }, "url": "https:\/\/developingtelecoms.com\/telecom-technology\/telecom-devices-platforms\/20712-why-are-smartphone-sales-declining-in-africa-2.html" }, { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vaughan O'Grady", "@id": "https:\/\/developingtelecoms.com\/#vaughan_o_grady_640e701a34" }, { "@id": "https:\/\/developingtelecoms.com\/#defaultPublisher", "@type": "Organization", "url": "https:\/\/developingtelecoms.com\/", "logo": { "@id": "https:\/\/developingtelecoms.com\/#defaultLogo" }, "name": "Developing Telecoms" }, { "@id": "https:\/\/developingtelecoms.com\/#defaultLogo", "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https:\/\/developingtelecoms.com\/images\/stories\/highResLogos\/dt-site-logo-440.png", "width": "440", "height": "122" } ] } ```