Transsion Holdings

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Shenzhen Transsion Holdings Co. Ltd
Formerly called
Transsion Technology
Type
Private
IndustryConsumer Electronics
Founded2006; 18 years ago (2006) in Hong Kong
FounderZhu Zhaojiang,[1] (or George Zhu)
HeadquartersShenzhen, China
Area served
Africa, Asia Latina America, Middle East
Key people
George Zhu (President)
ProductsMobile phones, Accessories, Home appliances
BrandsItel, Tecno, Infinix, Oraimo, Carlcare, Syinix
Websitewww.transsion.com

Transsion Holdings is a Chinese manufacturer of mobile phones, mobile phone accessories, and home appliances based in the country's Shenzhen province. The company focuses on emerging markets - Middle East, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Latin America.

In 2022, Transsion said it sold 156 million mobile phones globally.[2]

Its brands include phone brands such as Itel Mobile, Tecno Mobile, Infinix; after-sales service brand Carlcare; and accessories brand Oraimo and home appliances brand Syinix. It manufactures phones in China, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and recently in India. it's products include phones, laptops, stoves, smart watches, shaving machines, TVs, water heaters, fans and other home appliances.

Transsion has Research and Development centres in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chongqing in China. By the end of 2022, Transsion said it had 3,901 R&D staff only.

It also has a software division that develops the HiOS, itelOS, and XOS (Transsion OS) customised Android operating systems used on its phones. Within Transsion OS, the company also includes an app store, game centre, phone master, and other related tools and apps.[2]

Transsion has also partnered with established Chinese Internet companies such as Netease, Tencent on some products such as African music streaming platform Boomplay, newsfeed Scooper, and integrated content distribution platform Phoenix, amoung others.

Tecno logo

History

Transsion Holdings Pvt Ltd was founded as Transsion Technology in Hong Kong in 2006, with a focus on the development, manufacturing, sales, and services of mobile communication products. Transsion entered the African market with its Tecno and Itel brands, and started focusing on the African market in July 2008, initially with feature phones.[3]

Transsion set up its first African office in Lagos, Nigeria in June 2008, and had subsidiaries in seven countries in Africa by October that year.[3]Transsion set up a manufacturing plant in Ethiopia in 2011.[4]

Success in Africa

Transsion's first market was Africa when it launched operations in Lagos in 2008. The company still considers Africa its home market even as it has expanded beyond the continent to other emerging markets.[5]

Transsion focuses on features that it says are important to mobile phone users in Africa based on its research. These include low prices, high-capacity batteries, and dark skin tone friendly cameras systems, multiple sim slots, . The company for example has several itel and Tecno p[hones retailing below $100.

In an interview, Zhu credited the company's success in Africa to Research and Development saying:

"In the past, firms that did business in Africa and South Asia did not spend too much on research and development (R&D), but in fact, emerging markets require more R&D efforts under the framework of the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative)[1]

The Africa-focused R&D, according to Zhu, resulted in features such as a "beauty camera" that, compared to other global phone brands, worked well with the African skin color.

Most smartphones cannot accurately detect a dark-colored face under dim light. So Transsion analyzed several million African faces. We also surveyed local people's top 10 settings for taking photos and, based on the lighting and color temperature of those images, we researched and upgraded the technology[1]

The market share of Transsion's smartphone brands in Africa combined surpassed that of Samsung in 2017, making Transsion the largest manufacturer of smartphones for the African market in the fourth quarter of 2017.[6] [7]

Operations

Transsion's success in the African market has been attributed to tailoring its phones' features to the needs of the African market.[6] Transsion's phones offer a feature that calibrates camera exposures for darker skin tones, allowing face details to be retained. Transsion developed phones with dual SIM functionality, which were well received because African users commonly used more than one SIM card at a time to save money.

Transsion released phones with long battery life, which are suited to low electrification rates in Africa and the propensity of blackouts.[6] The phones included support for multiple African languages, and Tecno was the first major mobile phone brand in Ethiopia to include support for an Amharic keyboard.[4]

Apart from its successes in the African market, Transsion is among the fastest-growing smartphone brands in India, with a YoY growth of 40% in 2019. It was also the number-one brand in the entry-level smartphone market.[8]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 How a little-known Shenzhen smartphone-maker became ‘king of mobile’ in Africa , Global Times, Published: 25 April 2019, Accessed: 29 May 2023
  2. 2.0 2.1 Our Company, Transsion Official website, Accessed: 27 May 2023
  3. 3.0 3.1 傳音手機:非洲手機市場的封王之路, Stockfeel, Published:24 August 2018, Accessed: 29 May 2023
  4. 4.0 4.1 坚挺十多年,隐藏在非洲的中国手机巨头, Stockfeel, Published:11 Nov 2018, Accessed: 29 May 2023
  5. Transsion Updates – Full Year 2022, Counterpoint, Published:16 May 2023, Accessed: 29 May 2023
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 A low-profile, Chinese handset maker has taken over Africa's mobile market, Quartz, Published: 30 Aug 2018, Accessed: 29 May 2023
  7. Africa's Smartphone Market Declines Despite Strong Performance of Region's Biggest Markets, IDC, Published: 12 Mar 2018, Accessed: 29 May 2023
  8. India Smartphone Shipments Reached a Record-High 49 Million units Defying the Economic Slowdown Trends in Other Sectors, Counterpoint, Published: 24 Oct 2019, Accessed: 29 May 2023

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