India is one of the largest smartphone markets in the world and the market witnessed a surge of 26 percent in the first quarter of this year with shipments of 38.8 million units of smartphones in Q1 2021.
A report from Strategy Analytics claims that the surge in demand is a result of eased lockdown restrictions in the first quarter and increased demand for new 4G smartphones.
Xiaomi remained the leading smartphone brand in the country with a 26.5 percent market share. The company is facing tough competition from Samsung which has captured an 18.6 percent market share in India.
Last year, in Q1 2020, Xiaomi had a massive 32 percent market share while Samsung had only 16 percent during the same time. Now, Samsung is trying to surpass Xiaomi to become the leading smartphone brand in India.
The new devices coming from the South Korean giant, including the Galaxy M-series, A-series, and F-series are in demand given that they offer a smartphone from a famous and premium brand at affordable prices.
Vivo managed to grab the third position in the Indian smartphone market in Q1 2021 with a market share of 18 percent, an increase of two percent compared to the same period last year. It is just behind Samsung and could pose a threat to the South Korean giant’s position in the Indian market. It is also spending heavily in India to boost its brand and in line with that, Vivo has become a title sponsor of IPL.
Another Chinese company OPPO got the fourth position in the Indian market with a 12 percent market share. The company is gearing up to boost its position in India and is reportedly set to launch its own online store next month.
Realme, which started off as a subsidiary of OPPO, is the fifth most-selling smartphone brand in India with an 11 percent market share. The company’s market share slipped from 15 percent a year ago, mainly because of the lagging offline presence.
The Indian smartphone market remains highly volatile and it will be interesting to be seen how the market share of these brands changes in the second quarter as India again imposes lockdown-like restrictions amid surging COVID-19 cases in the country.
RELATED:
