Transsion Holdings brands Infinix and Tecno are looking to extend their hold of the various smartphone markets they dominate, especially on the African continent, by bringing several features that their devices have so far lacked. Top on the list of those features is one that we saw make inroads, albeit slowly, into the Kenyan market last year: pop-up cameras.
Having fully embraced the infamous notch on their devices for most of 2019, the two Chinese phone brands will be looking to get on with a trend that has seen the same notch being ditched in favour of “all-screen” smartphones.
According to a report, Infinix will be the first in line to launch a smartphone with a pop-up camera as early as February.
Soon after, sibling Tecno is expected to follow suit with a smartphone of its own with a pop-up camera.
Details of the said devices remain sketchy at this time but, if the reports are anything to go by, it won’t be long before we not only know more about them but also have them in our hands.
According to Counterpoint Research, Tecno and Infinix collectively accounted for 13% of the smartphone market in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region as of the quarter of 2019.
In that time, Tecno, whose presence is largely limited to the African continent unlike other device makers like Samsung and Huawei that have a huge presence in the Middle East, against all odds managed to edge Huawei out of the number 2 position with devices in its entry-level Pop and Spark series managing to weather the storm raised by Huawei’s aggressive push of its own budget smartphone lineup, the Y series, across Africa and the Middle East.
It is worth noting that it is Huawei that has so far introduced notable budget smartphones rocking pop-up cameras: the Huawei Y9 Prime 2019 it started selling in Kenya mid-year and the Huawei Y9s (pictured above) it offered local buyers towards the end of the year.
Infinix, meanwhile, managed to register the fastest growth of any brand in the market with an increase of 34% year over year to net 4% market share.
The stage is set for the two brands to further their dominance in 2020 by introducing new features a pursuing further expansion in the new markets in Asia like India where they are also plying their trade.
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