Technology has the power to transcend socio-economic boundaries. And the current trend of smartphone accessibility in the populace of Bangladesh is proof of that.
The exploding growth of the smartphone market size has allowed both national and international brands to compete. And amidst all these options, it’s easy for you to get lost. But don’t worry, because we’re about to tell you about the best mobile phone brands in Bangladesh.
The Current Mobile Market in Bangladesh
It’s a wonder how fast the smartphone market has grown in our country. There are about 27 million smartphone users in Bangladesh. The number keeps rising cumulatively as each year passes. Seeing an opportunity, gigantic international brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, Apple, Huawei etc. are trying their best to get a bigger market share. Local brands like Walton are not behind in the competition too.
Due to the unfortunate attack of COVID-19, there has been a propensity to buy smartphones from the online marketplace. People are also interested in buying second hand mobile phones at a lower price. But there always remains an element of distrust in online transactions.
Keeping all these problems in mind, Bikroy.com is providing the safest and biggest online marketplace. You can filter the search query according to price, location, brands etc. which allows you to buy the cheapest mobiles in Bangladesh. Bikroy.com is your go-to place for buying the newest models as well as the old second-hand phones.
List of the Most Popular Smartphone Brands in Bangladesh
Each smartphone brand is unique in what they offer: Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi etc. focus on providing more software features at a lower cost while reducing hardware quality whereas Apple’s iPhone offers the best software and hardware but at a huge price tag. Let’s go through a detailed analysis of these brands:
Walton is the biggest local smartphone brand in Bangladesh. Since 1977, Walton has been a trusted seller of consumer electronics in Bangladesh. In 2017, they introduced Walton Digi-Tech Industries Limited to make smartphones. Their company is now able to produce 8 lakh smartphones per month.
The story of Walton has been something worth noting. Walton’s target audience has been the lower middle class and lower class people. And so they have released low price android mobile in Bangladesh but with reasonable software and hardware.
The Walton Primo series has been their most successful smartphone series. They are also now focussing on building mid-range gaming phones like Primo S7 and Primo S7 pro to meet the demands of the market. Walton is indeed the pioneer of the smartphone industry of Bangladesh.
The story of Symphony is that of heartbreak in the smartphone market history of Bangladesh. About 8-9 years ago, Symphony almost had no competitors. They took the market by storm. Going as far as to say that the people of Bangladesh have been acquainted with smartphones through symphony would be a bold yet justified claim to make.
But Symphony’s success lies in the past. Their market share is drastically diminishing as each year passes: It was 1.92% in 2020 compared to 2.86% in 2019. People have mostly lost their trust in Symphony because they failed to introduce desirable models. The only glory left is the Z and i series of Symphony. Let’s see if they can turn the tide with their upcoming smartphones.
The Apple iPhone needs no introduction. Ever since 2007, the iPhone has taken the world by storm every time they introduce their flagship phones. They also have their fair share of MAC OS enthusiasts in Bangladesh which allows them to have about 1.5 million users.
Apple is extremely good at what they market: their brand value and emotions. The Apple iPhone is mostly an element of luxury in Bangladesh because of its price. Apple is extremely popular among the higher class citizens of the country. However, no one can deny its utility when it comes to what it offers: the latest hardware, fast and secured OS and of course, their pristine picture producing cameras.
The US Senate hearing of Google has raised privacy concerns in the whole world. This is causing a gradual shift towards iPhones all over the world including Bangladesh. Apple can sleep in peace as its market growth is not stopping anytime soon.
Samsung is the biggest smartphone brand in Bangladesh- Yepp, one line is enough to introduce Samsung. The Korean tech giant has a 31.97% (last year 33.09%) market share of Bangladesh. Because of its huge impact on the market, Samsung is now manufactured and assembled in Bangladesh by Fair Electronics.
Samsung has produced smartphones for people of all classes. They have higher range smartphones like the S series and Note series, middle and lower range series like the A and M series. This allowed them to fully penetrate the smartphone market of our country.
However, the Samsung market is slowly diminishing. There have been nail-biting competition among smartphone brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme etc. in recent years. Their fast growth is a threat to Samsung too. The only way out of this is to ensure that their flagship phones are unbeatable.
Huawei is in the middle of writing its unfortunate history. One of the leading smartphone brands of our country is soon getting obsolete. And the worst thing is that it’s not even Huawei’s fault.
The culmination of the economic cold war between the US and China has resulted in several US sanctions on China. This forced Google to cut ties with Huawei. So all the Huawei phones after the Huawei P30 Pro (2019) don’t have Playstore, Maps, Google Mail, Photos. This caused the people to immediately lose trust and interest in the brand.
Huawei still holds a 7.93% (last year it was 10.4%) market share in Bangladesh. But that is mainly due to the old smartphones that are used to date. Huawei earned its name with the Y and P series. They cannot but fix their issue with Google if they want to get a second chance.
The story of One Plus is an extraordinary entrepreneurial success story. It’s crazy how a company founded in 2013 has become one of the biggest smartphone brands in the whole world. Its international recognition has allowed it to penetrate the Bangladesh smartphone market too.
The majority shareholder of OnePlus is Oppo. OnePlus’s success can be attributed to its manufacturing policy: provide as many features as it can in as little money as possible. And this worked! It is beating global established smartphone brands like Apple, Huawei, Vivo etc.
OnePlus has also received a warm welcome in Bangladesh. Its smartphones are popular mostly among the youth. OnePlus doesn’t make any lower or lower-middle range smartphones. OnePlus original and Nord series have both been critically acclaimed.
Xiaomi has become prominent in the last few years. The US sanctions on Huawei made Huawei distrustful. This left a gap in the existing market. Xiaomi made no delay in grasping the opportunity. But it’ll be an insult to Xiaomi if we say their smartphones didn’t play any part here.
The best thing about Xiaomi is that they give exactly what the average buyer wants: A fast operating system, superb camera, high ROM and RAM and of course, its customized MIUI. Availability of all these features at a budget price made Xiaomi come out on top.
Xiaomi has broken the smartphone market with its Redmi series. Their Poco series is also doing extremely well. Xiaomi is estimated to soon match Samsung in market share in Bangladesh. Currently, it claims 19.46% (last year 16.02%) of the market. Its growth is indeed a challenge to established brands like Samsung.
Oppo is the fourth biggest smartphone brand in the world and the first in China. So it was just a matter of time before Oppo penetrated the Bangladesh smartphone market. And they did just that in 2014. And in just 7 years, they already hold a 7.3% (last year 5.85%) market share. Oppo has also started manufacturing in Bangladesh.
Oppo became popular mainly due to providing outstanding camera features. It’s still known mostly as a camera phone. Initially, they made only high range smartphones. But recently, they have started manufacturing lower-mid and mid-range smartphones due to popular demand.
The Oppo A series, F series and Reno series have gained massive popularity among smartphone enthusiasts.
Realme’s success in Bangladesh is almost a wonder. They entered the online market of Bangladesh in February 2019 and sold all their smartphones in a few months. Since then their showrooms have spread all over the country and they hold 3.77% of the market.
Realme was initially a part of Oppo. But then the founders left Oppo and started a separate brand. Realme makes budget-friendly smartphones while offering desired features like a good camera, exquisite design, strong battery and AMOLED screen.
Realme is manufactured in Gazipur, Bangladesh. This relieves them from paying import taxes. So they’re able to make better smartphones with less price than other competitors. Realme original and C series both have got massive market popularity.
Vivo is one of the leading mobile brands in Bangladesh. It currently holds a 6.04% market. Vivo, like Samsung and Realme, is manufactured in Bangladesh. This gives them an edge in the competitive market.
Vivo and Oppo are both owned by BBK Electronics of China. As they have the same distributive channels, they can easily penetrate a market. Vivo officially entered Bangladesh in December of 2017.
Vivo is popular for its durable battery, large screens, stylish design and fast OS. They have made a name in the market with their Y and V series. Its market is growing rapidly which is simultaneously posing a threat to bigger brands like Xiaomi and Samsung.
Final Words
It is a simple observation that the Smartphone market is going through a fast-paced change. It’s highly competitive and we can almost apply Darwin’s ‘Survival of the Fittest’ in some sense. Huge brands like Symphony, Huawei are on the brink of abruptly ending their race. The well-established market of Samsung is heavily challenged by other brands like Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi. All these can mean one thing for the brands: Provide the best features as cheaply as you can. And for consumers? This is technological heaven on earth!
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