Which Chinese mobile phone brand offers the most budget-friendly options?

Many would likely point to Xiaomi, given its average price hovers just above 1,000 yuan. Yet, there exists a brand even more affordable, with an average price merely one-third of Xiaomi's—Transsion.

While Xiaomi's average price remains at 1,000 yuan, let's examine Transsion's average price. The chart above illustrates Transsion's average prices and profit margins over the past three years and the first half of 2026.

As evident, the average price was merely around 300 yuan. However, by the first half of 2026, even after a 30% hike, it only reached 413.4 yuan, still just a fraction of Xiaomi's price, which had climbed to approximately 1,300 yuan by then.

Why is Transsion so affordable? Primarily because it concentrates on low-end models and targets economically emerging regions such as Africa, Latin America, and India, offering a plethora of feature phones as well.

Transsion made its mark in Africa, earning the moniker 'King of African Mobile Phones.' Given Africa's economic landscape, high-end, pricey phones would struggle to gain traction.

Transsion captured the African market with its budget-friendly prices, practical features, extended battery life, and remarkable camera capabilities, subsequently expanding into Latin America, India, and beyond.

However, by 2025, with memory chip prices skyrocketing, Transsion was no longer content to confine itself to low-end models, as the escalating costs rendered them unfeasible.

A glance at the data reveals the impact. In 2025, Transsion's revenue stood at 65.623 billion yuan, a 4.5% decline year-on-year, while its operating profit plummeted by 51.25% and net profit by 53.43% compared to the previous year.

Evidently, the memory price surge dealt a severe blow to Transsion.

In 2026, Transsion was compelled to raise prices and discontinue numerous models priced below $100, with phone prices even reaching $300 and $400. Consequently, overall phone prices surged by 30%, while smartphone shipments in Africa priced below $100 plummeted by 34% year-on-year.

Interestingly, in the first half of 2026, Transsion's revenue soared to 35.431 billion yuan, a 21.85% increase year-on-year; its net profit attributable to shareholders reached 1.773 billion yuan, up 46.22%. Memory prices no longer hindered its revenue or profit.

What led to this turnaround? Transsion had diversified into other ventures, such as IoT, energy storage, electric tricycles, electric bicycles, and various side businesses.

Even more fascinatingly, Transsion introduced numerous business models that Chinese companies excel at to Africa, such as financial schemes enabling consumers to purchase phones with zero or minimal down payments, with the remaining balance paid off in small daily installments.

Smart locks are installed in phones/electric vehicles; failure to repay on time results in the device being locked, and it unlocks once payment is made...

The most captivating model pertains to electric vehicles: customers can acquire a vehicle for 0 yuan and then utilize it to generate income, such as through deliveries or passenger transport. Each time they swap batteries, they pay a small fee to buy a portion of the motorcycle, gradually paying it off until the vehicle becomes theirs.

Thanks to these side ventures, Transsion's revenue and profit both witnessed growth in 2026. It must be acknowledged that Transsion, no longer content to remain in the low-end market, possesses a wealth of ideas and bold strategies.