Samsung remains the most popular phone brand in Kenya. In fact, the market share for the Korean brand steadily grew in 2024 from 19.41% at the start of the year to 28.04% in December.
Last year, the brand brought its flagship Galaxy S24 model to Kenyans as well as the more affordable S24 FE. In the growing foldable market, Kenyans had a chance to locally buy the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6. Among other marketing efforts, Samsung was also an official partner of the Paris Olympic Games.
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Number two in 2024 was no different from 2023, as the Chinese phone maker, Tecno, came second. However, Tecno’s market share was the same in January as it was in December 2024 at exactly 16.58%.
Another Chinese brand, Infinix, which rode high with their Note 40 series, was in 3rd. Infinix held steady all year, starting in January 2024 at 7.61% and finishing at 8.7%. Oppo was fourth, but its market share declined steeply from a high of 19.34% to just 7.78% in December. This is the second consecutive year that Oppo’s market share has declined inside a 12-month period.
READ: 8 Months Later: The Infinix Note 40 Pro Surpasses Expectations
Nokia is doing quite well in the market with 7.59% of the Kenyan market. The brand, it appears, continues to hold a special place in the hearts of Kenyan phone users.
The Chinese brand Xiaomi, known mostly for its affordable Redmi brand, ended the year with a market share of 4.95%. It was followed by iPhone, which had 4.09%. Itel is not only close to iPhone alphabetically but also in market share with 3.94%.
Huawei, which is currently not shipping much into Kenya, holds 2.84% market share.
Popular Phone Data Source
Data for this analysis comes from Statcounter, a web analytics service that uses tracking code on over 1.5 million sites globally. This code allows them to analyze browser, operating system, and screen resolution data for each page view to determine mobile device usage.
Some phone brands that also sell affordable midrange phones in Kenya and entry-level phones, like Vivo, did not feature individually. Such brands may have been captured under others with a market share of just under 6%.
READ: Best Budget Smartphones Under 20K To Buy in Kenya (2024)
Statcounter’s “unknown” device category now holds the third largest market share in Kenya at 9.93%. However, Statcounter hasn’t defined this category, and because their tracking relies on web browser visits, it’s possible some Kenyan users are blocking tracking codes, masking their devices.
