List of Extinct, Endangered, and Active Smartphone Brands in the Philippines
A few years ago, the Philippine smartphone market was booming with lots of mobile brands from both local and international companies. However, as years passed, many brands surrendered to the very stiff competition and decided to cease or exit their phone business in the country.
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| List of Extinct, Endangered, and Active Smartphone Brands in the Philippines (UPDATED) |
We listed them down, and to our surprise, there are already 54 brands that are now "extinct" or not operating in the local market anymore, and several more who are "endangered brands" that might soon face the same fate as the fallen ones.
Extinct - these are the mobile brands that are not operating in the Philippines anymore.
- Acer - exited the Philippine market around the first quarter of 2017.
- Alcatel - last known activity was in July 2019.
- Arsenal Devices - the last known activity was in early 2019.
- Arc Mobile - last seen active in late 2014.
- BlackBerry - no new device has been produced worldwide since 2018.
- Blackview - the last known activity was in January 2018.
- Bluboo - the last known activity was in March 2018.
- Brown and Proud - no other new device was released since its inception, the last known activity was in the second half of 2018.
- CDR King Mobile - the last known activity was in the second half of 2015.
- Chico Mobile - the last known Facebook activity was in June 2020, same distributor as ZH&K Mobile.
- CKK Mobile - the last known activity was in the second half of 2017.
- Cloudfone - the last known activity on Facebook was in February of 2021.
- Cubix Cube - last known activity was the second half of 2017, the same company as Cherry Mobile.
- Dell - exited the smartphone business worldwide in 2012.
- DingDing Mobile - the last known activity was in the second half of 2015.
- DTC Mobile - the last known activity was in August 2016.
- Ekotek - last known activity was in December 2018.
- Elephone - the last known activity was in the first half of 2016.
- Energizer - the last known activity was in March of 2020.
- Evoluzn - the last known activity was in the first half of 2014.
- Firefly Mobile - the last known activity was in June 2019
- Gionee - last known activity was the first half of 2018, filed bankruptcy in China.
- Happy Mobile - the last known activity was in August 2016.
- HTC - the last known activity was in the second half of 2017.
- Hyundai Mobile - the last known activity was in the second half of 2017.
- I Robot Mobile - ceased operation in August 2018.
- Karbonn Mobile - is an Indian brand that entered the local market in 2013 and then exited after a year or so.
- Kingcom - the last known activity was in the first half of 2015.
- Leagoo - last known activity was in November of 2020.
- LG Mobile - exited the Philippine market around early 2019.
- Maxx Mobile - an Indian brand that entered the local market in 2013.
- Me Mobile - last known activity was January 2017.
- Meizu - the last known activity was in March 2020.
- MyView - the last known activity was in January 2014.
- Neffos - smartphone company of TP-Link, the last known activity was October 2020.
- OVVI - the last known activity was in April 2018.
- O+ USA - the last known activity was in February 2018.
- Philips Mobile - the last known activity was in the second half of 2018.
- Phoenix Tab - the last known activity was in the second half of 2015.
- Polaroid Mobile - entered the Philippines market in 2013 but did not last long.
- Qube - the last known activity was in the first half of 2014.
- Royqueen - the last known activity was in March 2020.
- SKK Mobile - the last known activity was in January 2019.
- Sony Mobile - exited the Philippine market around May 2019.
- Starmobile - last known activity was in 2019, Facebook page was changed to Starpay (wallet app).
- SunTouch - last seen active in late 2014.
- SuperD - the last known activity was November 2016, a sub-brand of MyPhone.
- Telego - the last known activity was in November 2018.
- THL - last known activity was in early 2014, same distributor as ZOPO.
- Torque Mobile - the last activity was September 2019, Facebook page is now IQOS cigarette instead of phones.
- Vinovo - the last known activity was in February 2021.
- ZH&K Mobile - the last known Facebook activity was in June 2020, the same distributor as Chico Mobile
- ZOPO - last known activity was in early 2014, same distributor as THL.
- ZUK - the last known activity was in the last quarter of 2016.
Endangered - these are the smartphone brands that are having difficulty coping with the current market and facing near extinction. They may still be active on Facebook, continue to sell their phones (offline and/or online), and/or have still stores in the malls. However, these brands have not released at least 1 new device for more than 6 months.
- BS Mobile - there is still activity on Facebook, but the phones being sold are very old models.
- Kata Digital - is still active on Facebook but has no new phones being sold. Currently selling smartwatch, and there is an upcoming laptop.
- Lenovo Mobile - last known activity was in early 2021, last phone release was in 2020.
- Motorola - re-entered the PH market last May 2022, but no new phone since it released the Edge 30 Pro. Before returning, it exited the local market around late 2018.
- MyPhone - last known Facebook activity was in October of 2022, but the last phone released was in November 2019.
- Qnet Mobile - no update on Facebook since May 2023, the last phones released were basic devices in August of last year.
- TCL Mobile - still active on Facebook, but no new devices since last year.
- Wiko - no update on Facebook since February 2023, no new devices since initial devices were launched last year.
See Also: How To Delete Your Entire Google History
Active - these are the smartphone brands that are dominating the Philippine market and/or those who continue to release new devices from time to time.
- ASUS ROG
- Apple
- CHERRY Philippines
- HONOR
- Huawei
- Infinix - exited the Philippines market in August 2018, returned in May 2019, and has been active since.
- Itel
- Nokia
- OnePlus
- OPPO
- POCO
- Realme
- Samsung
- TECNO
- Vivo
- Xiaomi
New/Returned - as the name implies, a new player in the smartphone market in the country.
- Doogee - officially re-entered the Philippines market last September 1 with the introduction of a new tablet lineup. Prior to the return, the last known activity was in the first half of 2018.
- Nothing - arrived July 2022 through Digital Walker.
- ZTE - officially came back in the local market around February of 2023. Prior to the return, the last known activity was in the first quarter of 2016.
As you may have observed, the majority of the current operating mobile brands in the Philippines are now Chinese brands that are offering great value in terms of price-to-specs ratio. These brands, in one way or another, are also one of the reasons why many local and international brands exited the Philippine market, and some others facing the same fate. Moreover, the only local mobile brand active at this point is CHERRY Philippines.
By the way, this post also serves as the list of all the smartphone brands in the Philippines, past and present, that officially entered the local mobile market.
This article is based on our research and observation of the smartphone industry in the Philippines. We will update this post once we have new information. If you believe there is something wrong with this post that needs to be corrected, please let us know.
First published on August 18, 2019, and last updated on September 3, 2023