Africa’s smartphone market showed remarkable resilience in the face of macroeconomic challenges and forex issues in Q1 2024, with shipments increasing 17.9% year on year (YoY) to reach 20.2 million units.

That’s according to the latest insights from International Data Corporation (IDC), with the firm’s newly released Quarterly Global Mobile Phone Tracker showing that feature phone shipments declined 15.9% over the same period to total 18.8 million units. This marks the first quarter where smartphone shipments have surpassed feature phone shipments in Africa, highlighting a clear transition toward smartphones across the region.

“South Africa experienced healthy YoY growth in Q1 2024, driven by the rising popularity and availability of competitively priced Chinese brands with advanced features,” says Arnold Ponela, a senior research analyst at IDC. “Meanwhile, Nigeria saw robust growth fueled by the success of Transsion brands and Xiaomi, particularly in the entry-level segment, which significantly boosted shipments. Kenya further strengthened its position as the third-largest smartphone market in Africa in Q1 2024, with innovative financing models like Mkopa driving sales growth.”

In Q1 2024, Transsion brands (Tecno, Itel, Infinix) maintained their leading position in terms of smartphone market share, driven by their compelling entry-level device portfolio tailored to the African market. However, Samsung and Xiaomi gained market share on the previous quarter, driven by mid-range ($200<$400) models. Overall, shipments of smartphones in this price range increased in Q1 2024, while shipments of <$100 devices declined, indicating a growing consumer preference for feature-rich models.

Looking at 2024 as a whole, IDC expects Africa’s smartphone market to see shipments increase 5.7% YoY, with a sustained upward trajectory for the next five years. “Africa remains a market with a high share of feature phones, although they are expected to gradually decline as the transition to smartphones gains momentum,” says Akash Balachandran, a research manager at IDC. “This shift, coupled with rising demand, will be the key driver of overall growth in the smartphone market. Persistent inflationary pressures and escalating macroeconomic uncertainties may cause short-term fluctuations but will not impede the long-term transition.”

Konga, Nigeria’s leading composite giant has partnered with Samsung, a multinational manufacturing conglomerate to offer shoppers free delivery and installation as well as free installation kits when they purchase any of the Samsung Consumer Electronics products on Konga.

This exciting offer is part of activities for the month-long Konga Mid-year Shopping Festival, a hugely popular annual sales fiesta, which kicked off on the 30th of May and ends on 30th of June, 2023.

Through this incentive, shoppers on the Konga platform can now have their Samsung Electronics products delivered at no cost, in addition to having certified technicians handle the installation at their residence free of charge. This offer covers items such as Samsung TVs UHD 65′ & above and QLED 55′ & above; all Samsung Air Conditioners; Samsung Washing Machines Front Loaders 6kg & above and Samsung Refrigerators Double Door (300Ltrs & above), Side by Side, French Doors and Be-Spoke. Furthermore, customers will receive free installation kits for Samsung TVs and Residential Air Conditioners as part of this offer.

Also adding to the excitement is the option of same day delivery for all ordered items through KongaNow, an unprecedented initiative pioneered by Konga in May 2013. KongaNow addresses the twin problems of fake products and delayed deliveries by ensuring that verified products are delivered to shoppers within one to six hours, provided orders are placed before 2pm. Any item labelled KongaNow on the Konga website is entitled to same day delivery in Lagos and Abuja. Shoppers in other cities will also enjoy fast-tracked delivery, although with slight delays owing to logistics reasons.

This development is bound to add an extra kick and special flavour to the Samsung Brand Day, an exclusive one-day sale of Samsung products on the Konga website scheduled for Tuesday, June 13, 2023.  For the Samsung Brand Day, shoppers are set to enjoy special pricing and discounted deals on various Samsung products cutting across its Mobile Phone range and accessories as well as Consumer Electronics such as TV sets, AirConditioners, Refrigerators and Washing Machines, among others. The exclusive Samsung Day sale will kick off in the dawn hours of Tuesday, June 13 on the website – www.konga.com, with early bird shoppers expected to take advantage of the limited quantities on offer.

The 2023 edition of the Konga Mid-Year Shopping Festival, launched last year by the e-Commerce giant, has continued to attract huge interest and excitement among bargain-hungry shoppers, with Konga offering best prices and special deals for genuine products from a wide range of leading manufacturers across categories, enabling shoppers save big on their purchases.

Samsung Electronics Nigeria said the newest edition of the popular Galaxy A series will give telephone users more options to stay connected and enjoy a remarkable mobile experience.

The electronics giant said the new Galaxy A24 LTE comes packed with amazing features and a clear mission to redefine awesome through a brilliant display, a brand-new design and a camera that shoots sharp and steady.

It said the device comes with a large storage capacity that allows you to safely keep your important documents, music, apps, downloads and collection of all your life’s special moments captured in pictures and video.

The Galaxy A24 LTE boasts the latest software in Samsung’s One UI 5.1, built-in memory of 4 or 6GB of memory and 128GB storage that is expandable by up to 1TB with MicroSD1.

According to the company, the device comes with Galaxy’s signature design language that is inspired by Samsung’s flagship line. From the back of the phone, the improved design sports a glossy finish and prism pattern back cover with a refined and polished camera deck.

The optimized ratio between the corner and the camera modules gives the phone a sophisticated look while the no camera housing is straight out of the apex Galaxy S series design playbook.

The phone’s sleek and premium design is complemented by its exquisite flat body pattern. Moreover, you can stand out with one of the phone’s three beautiful colors that include black, silver and light green.