Over the years, the smartphone industry has evolved by leaps and bounds. Not only are these devices swanky in design, but they feature some top-notch imaging capabilities and more. Even amid rising competition, there are some brands that stand out from the rest. One of them is TECNO, a premium smartphone brand from Transsion Holdings. Ever since they marked their entry in India in 2017, the brand has been rolling out impressive smartphones, which are available on a budget.
And as always, TECNO is once again making headlines after the launch of CAMON 18 with a 48MP Rear and 48MP Selfie camera. If that wasn’t enough, TECNO POVA 5G is all set to hit the India market in Jan 2022. It will be powered with the Dimensity 900 5G processor and 8GB+ 128GB storage capacity.
It certainly seems like an exciting time for TECNO! To know more about their journey and plans for the future, we caught up with Arijeet Talapatra, CEO at CEO, Transsion India. Here’s what he had to say:
Edited excerpts:
1. As the year 2021 comes to a close, can you share highlights of the year gone by for premium smartphone brand TECNO?
Arijeet Talapatra: TRANSSION brands remained strong in tier 3 and tier 4 cities as well as rural India, and climbed up to the third position in the overall handset market. TRANSSION led the overall budget handset market (<10K) with a 22% market share.
2021 was an exciting year for us - TECNO launched around 18 smartphones across CAMON, SPARK, and POVA product lines. We also registered an online growth of 73% (Jan-Nov YTD) on the back of popular smartphones like Spark Go 2021, Spark 7T, and POVA 2.
As always, TECNO continued to set industry benchmarks with premium features at affordable price points in the sub-10K segment on the back of its ‘segment first’ and India-first approach. We have consistently stayed among the top 5 smartphones in the sub 10K category in the last two quarters.
We also dominated in online space with Spark 7T being the top selling model on Amazon India
Our results are proof enough - we now have 14 million+ TECNO happy customers in the Indian market.
That’s not all - this year, we also roped in Ayushmann Khurana as a brand ambassador for the India market, alongside Chris Evans, who is our global brand ambassador.
2. India is in the grip of a mobile revolution and there is a buzz in the market for 5G smartphones. What are TECNO's plans for the same?
Arijeet Talapatra: We will be launching TECNO’s first 5G product under POVA series in the latter part of January 2022. These could be priced in under 20k segment, and will come with a Dimensity 900 5G Processor.
TECNO’s plan is to create a 5G portfolio, which will have at least 3-4 5G products next year.
3. TECNO is known to adapt its product offerings in tune with the needs of consumers from different markers with localized innovations and design breakthroughs. What does your catalogue for India look like?
Arijeet Talapatra: As a brand, we have a sharp focus on the Indian market from a long-term perspective, and TECNO India is committed to growing with the market. With the brand’s essence of ‘Stop at Nothing’, TECNO is committed to giving the masses access to the latest technology at accessible prices, allowing them to reach beyond their current limitations and uncover a whole new world of possibilities.
With the goal of empowering and encouraging more consumers to embrace self-expression through our smartphones, we are looking further to strengthen our product portfolio in the above 10K segment as well
Stepping into 2022, TECNO’s focus will continue to be ‘India First’, and we plan to disrupt the mid-to-high segment of smartphones. We want to customize products to cater to the Indian sensibilities in a better way, so that we can meet the needs of the users across price-points from 6K to 30K.
We will be venturing into 2022 with a bang by launching a new product line ‘POP’. TECNO will have five product lines in 2022 – POP, SPARK, CAMON, POVA, and Phantom.
4. Globally, TECNO’s portfolio spans smartphones, tablets, smart wearables, and AIoT devices. Can we expect diversification into the laptop, mobile accessories space in India too in the near future? Are there any plans?
Arijeet Talapatra: We have already launched a range of AIoT products this year, which includes TWS, earbuds, neckbands, and a fast-charging micro-USB cable. We intend to make TECNO’s portfolio more robust, and create a complete TECNO-connected device ecosystem that will elevate the consumer experience by including a wide variety of TWS/earbuds, Neckbands, wireless headsets, Bluetooth speakers, and smartwatches, etc.
This step will help TECNO to firm up its position in the value-sensitive accessories segment at aggressive price points.
5. TECNO is a key innovator in the mobile imaging ecosystem. Can you tell us a little bit more about the changing face of the mobile camera?
Arijeet Talapatra: Cameras and mobile technology have always been symbiotic and have heavily influenced the development of modern smartphones. This means that any manufacturer who is able to provide leading, cutting-edge mobile imaging solutions for smartphones will be able to determine how the future of smartphones will look like. This is why TECNO started TAIVOS Labs, which focuses on innovative and cutting-edge technological breakthroughs for mobile imaging technology.
TAIVOS™ Lab, short for TECNO AI Vision Optimization Solution Lab, was set up to enhance photography and videography through the latest technology. Specifically, TECNO TAIVOS™ certified cameras could reach a remarkable 4,500 fine-tuning settings, thanks to the 3A Algorithm and ISP (Image Signal Processor) module.
TECNO’s camera-centric CAMON series smartphone heralds the transition to higher camera pixels, Super Night powered by TAIVOS technology, Eye Autofocus and Professional Video shooting experience. Going with the popular trend of short form media consumption habits of India’s Gen-z audience, we have recently launched CAMON 18 which offers unique video capabilities of Film mode in eight themes. CAMON 18 is the only smartphone with segment-first 48MP+48MP camera with virtual RAM expansion up to 7GB at just INR 14999.
6. The past year has been an eventful one for you at TECNO. What can we expect in 2022?
Arijeet Talapatra: We certainly have big plans for 2022! In the coming year, we plan to focus on the premium segment by introducing a couple of models across POVA, CAMON, and Phantom lines. TECNO wants to serve its consumers across the length and breadth of the country. That’s exactly why we want to enlarge our product portfolio across the 6-30K segment
POP and SPARK will continue to offer premium features at disruptive price points in the under 12K segment, targeting Tier 3 and below markets. With CAMON, POVA & Phantom, we want to create a vast portfolio to serve our audience in Tier 1 and 2 in the above 10k segment.
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