Who is Transition? The discreet smartphone manufacturer that now equals Oppo

While we tend to focus on the more well-known and high-profile smartphone brands, a relatively low-key Chinese company is making waves in the industry. Transsion Holdings, the parent company of Tecno, Itel and Infinix, is shaking up the smartphone landscape by rapidly climbing the global rankings.

When it comes to smartphones, names such as Samsung, Apple, Oppo, Xiaomi, Honor and Vivo are arguably the most cited. Yet Chinese smartphone maker Transsion has just turned that familiar landscape upside down. Taking advantage of the complex environment of embargoes and patent disputes, Transsion tied with Oppo in IDC’s ranking of the world’s largest smartphone manufacturers.

It’s a considerable achievement: with Oppo, Transsion rises to fourth place in the Top 5 smartphone manufacturers, capturing 9.5% of the market share. Meanwhile, giants such as Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi are seeing their market share decline.

Same observation in the studies of Canalys, which shows is a real trend.

What is most striking about this rise is the impressive growth of Transsion. The company recorded a staggering 34.1% growth, a performance that few companies can match in a market as competitive as the smartphone market.

Key brands: Tecno, Itel and Infinix

The name Transsion may mean nothing to you. However, the brands he owns are very well known. Indeed, Transsion is Tecno, Itel and Infinix, three essential brands in several key markets.

These brands play a crucial role in Africa, where they have become benchmarks. But their influence is not limited to this continent. Pakistan, Bangladesh and India are also among the geographical areas in which these brands are well established.

Transsion’s success highlights an important reality of the smartphone market. While some brands are constantly in the limelight, others operate quietly, yet effectively, in the background.

Who is Transition?

Transsion Holdings is a mobile phone manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China. Founded in Hong Kong in 2006 as Transsion Technology.

The company entered the African market with its Tecno and Itel brands in July 2008, initially with basic mobile phones.

In 2014, Transsion launched its first smartphone. As it expanded, Transsion established subsidiaries in several countries, including Nigeria in June 2008, and had subsidiaries in seven African countries by October of the same year. In 2011, it established a manufacturing facility in Ethiopia. In 2017, the combined market share of Transsion’s smartphone brands in Africa surpassed that of Samsung, making Transsion the largest smartphone maker for the African market in the fourth quarter of 2017.

In 2017, it was Africa’s largest smartphone maker by sales, and also sells mobile phones in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Latin America. In 2019, Transsion became a listed group by listing on the STAR Market section of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

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