The Neon Ultra and Neon Smarta were launched with a lot of hype, as Kenya’s first locally assembled smartphones. Produced by Jamii Telecom, Safaricom and China’s Shenzhen TeleOne Technology at the East Africa Device Assembly Kenya Limited (EADAK), the idea was to make affordable smartphones and increase digital inclusion.

But despite the patriotic appeal and initial government support – including a high-profile launch by President William Ruto – the Neon brand has struggled to gain traction in the Kenyan smartphone market.

When EADAK was launched, Neon had a market share of 2.09%. But usage data shows a steady decline since then. By June 2024, Neon’s share had dropped to 1.96%. A year later, by June 2025, it had fallen to 0.68%.

This is because Neon is struggling to compete with established smartphone brands that offer better performance and value at the same price. Despite Neon smartphones retailing between KES 7,000 and KES 11,000 at launch, today’s prices – for example KES 9,999 for the Neon Ultra 2 on Safaricom’s Masoko platform – are no longer competitive in a crowded entry-level market.

Brands like Infinix, iTel, Redmi and Vivo have flooded the low-cost segment with more features, leaving Neon with shrinking visibility and relevance.

Smartphone Trends in Kenya

The Kenyan smartphone market is evolving fast. According to StatCounter data from over 5 billion monthly page views across 1.5 million websites, Samsung is the leading player in the country.

As of June 2024, Samsung had a 24.32% share of the smartphone market in Kenya, up 6% year on year. Its dominance shows Kenyan consumers trust the brand’s quality and reliability.

Xiaomi, which sells both its main and budget Redmi models, also grew impressively, from 5.28% to 7.46%. It now ranks 4th in the market, just ahead of Oppo by 0.03%. Transsion Holdings—the parent company of iTel, Infinix and TECNO—still rules the affordable and mid-range segments, but with mixed results. Infinix held third position with a steady 7.60% share, thanks to consistent releases across its Note, Hot and Smart series.

TECNO, although still the second most popular brand in Kenya, saw its market share drop from 16.98% to 13.43% while iTel dropped from 4.26% to 3%. This is likely due to new entrants and improved offerings from competitors.

Even premium brands are growing. Apple’s iPhone grew its share from 4% to 4.97% over the same period and moved into 7th place—interestingly, ahead of the more budget-friendly iTel.

Challenges for Kenya’s Local Smartphone Industry

The decline of Neon’s market share shows the challenge of sustaining a local brand in a highly competitive and price sensitive market. Locally assembled phones like the Neon series were meant to bridge Kenya’s digital divide but the strategy is now under pressure from global brands that benefit from economies of scale, R&D and refined distribution channels.

As Kenya’s smartphone penetration continues to rise, the key to success may not just be affordability but delivering a balance of quality, performance and innovation—areas where Neon needs to catch up if it wants to survive in the long term.