Sri Lanka’s smartphone market experienced a remarkable surge, with 365,000 units shipped in Q2 2024, marking a 218% year-over-year (YoY) growth, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). This triple-digit growth trend has continued for five consecutive quarters.
The surge coincided with major celebrations such as Sinhalese New Year, Vesak Poya, and Poson, during which several new brands and models were launched. IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker also showed strong growth across South Asia (excluding India), with 2.9 million units shipped and 39.5% YoY growth in the same period.
Sri Lanka is expected to maintain growth in Q3 2024 as Chinese smartphone brands expand through partnerships, according to Anjney Bhardwaj, Senior Market Analyst at IDC India. With its recent acquisitions of Airtel and a 74% stake in Sri Lankan Telecom, Dialog Axiata has become the largest telecom provider in the country and is expanding its 5G network. 5G smartphone shipments accounted for 25% of total sales in Q2 2024.
Retail channels dominated the market with a 98% share, as consumers prefer to inspect devices before purchasing, facilitated by multi-brand outlets and large national distributor stores. Honor led the market with a 21% share, driven by the success of the X7b model. ZTE and Samsung tied for second place, with ZTE’s Blade A34, V60, and Neo 2 among the top sellers, and Samsung’s Galaxy A05 leading its sales.