The global smartphone market just had its first bad quarter in a while. According to Canalys, Q2 2025 saw shipments fall 1% year-on-year, ending a six-quarter growth streak.
Now, a 1% drop is not really a crisis, but it does show that something might be off.
Demand in North America, Europe, and parts of Asia is slowing. People are holding onto their phones longer, and high-end upgrades aren’t as exciting anymore. Or maybe they’re just broke and priorities have shifted.
But once again, Africa didn’t get the memo.
Itel, Tecno still doing Itel, Tecno things
While the big brands battle for dominance in the premium league elsewhere, TRANSSION quietly continues its reign across Africa. You know them better as Tecno, Infinix, and itel, and chances are, your aunt or the guy sitting next to you in that kombi is using one.
Canalys says TRANSSION shipped 24.6 million smartphones last quarter, which is a small dip, but still keeps them in the global top five.
It’s easy to see why they keep winning here. They build for us, dual SIMs, long battery life, cameras cater more for dark skinned people, and importantly, prices that make sense.
You can’t sell a $1,000 phone to someone earning $150 a month and act shocked when it doesn’t move. Having said that, iPhones and Galaxy S devices kinda are popular, especially in urban areas.
Samsung’s comeback
Samsung had a good quarter though. They shipped 57.5 million devices, thanks mostly to their A-series lineup, the very same models we love here in Zim.
However, it appears the S25 Edge didn’t really do numbers. Canalys says,
In particular, the entry-level A0x and A1x lines were key drivers in Q2, backed by the newly introduced Galaxy A06 5G, which helped Samsung gain traction in emerging markets. The S25 series maintained steady performance, even though any major uptake in demand from the new Galaxy S25 Edge failed to materialise.
Apple, meanwhile, saw a slight decline. Nothing major, but if iPhones aren’t flying off shelves, it usually means the global economy is having a moment.
However, you can only slap the same design on a phone so many times before people say “nah, I’m good.” So, who knows, it might be that Apple’s rumoured redesign is needed to boost demand.
Nothing becomes something
Speaking of brands actually innovating, shoutout to Nothing. They shipped over a million phones this quarter and grew 177% year-on-year. That’s insane.
We haven’t seen much of them locally yet, but at this rate, it’s only a matter of time before someone in your circle says, “Check out this phone that lights up when I get a text.” Even if I think the Phone 3 was a misstep in the design department is overpriced for what it is.
The African reality
Smartphone shipments may be dipping globally, but Africa is still a growth market. We’re still putting feature phones aside and getting online for the first time. And with bundles getting cheaper (relatively), demand won’t fade any time soon.
TRANSSION knows this. That’s why they’ve doubled down on places like ours while the Apples of the world focus on making titanium phones for people who already have three devices.
So while the rest of the world might be slowing down, we’re just getting started. And if the global giants want in, they’d better start building for us too. Samsung kinda already is.
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