Oppo, once one of the fastest-growing smartphone brands in the Middle East, is now experiencing a noticeable decline in performance across both global and regional markets.
Despite its strong presence and previous success in some emerging economies, the company has started to fall behind competitors that are more agile and better attuned to the needs of markets and consumers.
According to data published by Canalys in its Q1 2025 report on the Middle East smartphone market, overall smartphone shipments in the region declined by 4% compared to the previous year, while Oppo’s decline exceeded this average.
In contrast, brands such as Xiaomi and HONOR maintained their market share and even achieved growth, thanks to stronger pricing strategies and distribution partnerships.
The report also noted that Saudi Arabia experienced a 12% decline in shipments, with Oppo being among the brands most negatively affected.
This decline is not limited to the Gulf countries. In another report published by Tech-ish.com, citing data from Counterpoint Research in July 2025, Oppo’s global sales dropped over the past year, with particularly weak performance in markets such as Asia and the Middle East.
In North Africa, while Oppo still maintains a presence and high awareness about the brand and its products, despite losing ground in key countries like Morocco and Algeria to Transsion Holdings, the company behind TECNO and Infinix phones.
Furthermore, according to the Canalys report, Oppo did not make it into the list of top-selling smartphones in Q2 2025. Instead, brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, Apple, Vivo, and Transsion’s phone lines dominated the market, with shares ranging between 9% and 19%. Samsung achieved the top performance during this time period.
Oppo was grouped with the rest of the phone brands worldwide, which reaches an approximate number of over 200 brands globally. These brands together held about 33% of the global market, but without any significant growth.
In Egypt, Oppo’s sales were impacted by the release of new models from well-established and trusted brands like Samsung. The latter launched its A-series with a comprehensive marketing campaign that spanned various channels and formats, ensuring strong reach among younger generations, particularly with global footballer Omar Marmoush and music star Wegz appearing in the latest campaign ad.
Although there are not enough facts about Oppo’s plan to get back to the top positions, we think that now is the time for Oppo to swiftly reevaluate its regional strategy, offer genuine local technical support, improving after-sales service, dive deeper into the market needs and work hard to fulfill these needs as they used to do before while they offered competitive features for affordable prices.
