The Indian smartphone market witnessed sluggish growth of just 1% in the second quarter of 2024 (Q2), according to market research firm Canalys. This slowdown can be attributed to several factors, including national elections held during the period, subdued seasonal demand, and extreme weather conditions in some parts of the country. Despite the overall stagnation, there were some key shifts in manufacturer rankings.

Consumers Eye Upgrades with 5G on Horizon, Boost Expected for Festive Season

Xiaomi, after relinquishing the top spot for six quarters, made a comeback in Q2. They captured an 18% market share by shipping 6.7 million units, solidifying their position as the leading smartphone brand in India. This resurgence can likely be attributed to their continued focus on offering compelling 5G smartphones in the mass market. Xiaomi is also targeting the flagship and upper midrange market with the launch of the Xiaomi 14 series, Xiaomi 14 Civi.

Vivo came in a close second with 6.7 million units shipped, leveraging their strategy of affordable 5G and feature-rich mid-range models. Samsung maintained a strong presence, securing third place with 6.1 million units shipped. Rounding out the top five were Realme and Oppo (excluding OnePlus) with 4.3 million and 4.2 million units shipped, respectively.

In Q1 2024, India’s smartphone market grew by 15% year-on-year, with shipments reaching 35.3 million units, driven by an improved inventory situation and successful promotional strategies. Samsung led with a 19% market share, followed by Xiaomi and Vivo, while other brands like Apple, Motorola, and Infinix also achieved significant growth.

Looking ahead, Canalys predicts a mid-single-digit growth in smartphone shipments during the upcoming holiday season, fueled by a potential upgrade wave. Their research suggests 44% of Indian consumers plan to buy a new phone within the next year, with many seeking the latest features like 5G.

However, Canalys analyst Sanyam Chaurasia warns of challenges in the Indian market. Frequent discounts during festivals set unrealistic price expectations for consumers, hurting brand value and profitability. Additionally, slow migration from feature phones and a growing second-hand market create obstacles for manufacturers.

(Source)

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India stands out as a key tech market and a central hub for tech companies, catering not just to sales but also production. Companies like Apple and Xiaomi manufacture their products within the country. The government is proactively enhancing its attractiveness for investments, offering diverse incentive packages. As of January 31, 2024, India has decreased the import duty on smartphone components from 15% to 10%, showcasing its commitment to fostering a favorable business environment. Here are the details…

India’s 10% Import Duty Sparks Surge in Smartphone Production

India has decreased the import duty on smartphone components from 15% to 10%, intending to boost smartphone manufacturing and reduce prices. As a result, companies manufacturing in India will now pay lower taxes on items like camera lenses, back covers, plastic and metal mechanical parts, GSM antennas, and other components imported from other countries.

This decision brought joy to major manufacturers, including Apple. While a drop from 15% to 10% may not appear substantial initially, it’s crucial to acknowledge that we’re dealing with operations valued in billions of dollars. The cost reduction could motivate current manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Realme, and OnePlus to boost their investments and inspire new ones to initiate production in India.

“Duty cuts on import of mobile phone parts would help big global manufacturers to set up large scale mobile assembly lines in India, and substantially increase exports of mobile phones,” said Rajat Mohan, a director at tax consultancy firm MOORE Singhi.

In 2022, Apple started making iPhones and AirPods at its factory in India, with a hefty $1 billion investment. Xiaomi, since 2014, runs five Indian factories, producing smartphones like Redmi, Mi, and POCO. Samsung, having started production in India back in 2007, operates six factories, making phones under brands like Galaxy, M, and A. This decision seems to be very beneficial for all these brands and many more.

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In 2023, India’s smartphone market experienced a slight decrease in shipments, totaling 148.6 million units, a 2% drop from the previous year. However, the final quarter showed a promising 20% year-on-year growth with 38.9 million units shipped. This overall stability was attributed to strong demand during the festive season.

India’s Smartphone Market Overcomes Obstacles in 2023

Samsung led the market in the fourth quarter with a 20% share, shipping 7.6 million units, followed by Xiaomi with 7.2 million units. Vivo, Realme, and OPPO were also among the top five brands. For the entire year, Samsung remained at the top, although its market share slightly declined by 1%. Vivo and Xiaomi followed, with Vivo showing a small growth and Xiaomi experiencing a decline. Realme and OPPO completed the top five, both seeing a decrease in their shipments.

The market’s resilience in 2023 was bolstered by improved consumer confidence and strong performance during the festive season, despite facing challenges like inventory issues and inflation. A noteworthy trend was the significant growth in the premium smartphone segment, driven by brands like Apple and Samsung offering new models and attractive financing options.

Canalys Senior Analyst Sanyam Chaurasia highlighted the success of brands like Xiaomi and Realme in expanding their offline presence and balancing their shipment channels. The market saw a rise in offline shipments for these brands, contributing significantly to their overall sales.

5G smartphones played a crucial role in the market, with affordable models driving growth. Canalys anticipates that the Indian smartphone market will continue to grow in 2024, fueled by reasonably priced 5G phones and a replacement cycle from the pandemic period. However, rising material costs pose a challenge for manufacturers.

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The Indian smartphone market witnessed a 3 percent year-on-year decline in shipments in the third quarter of 2023, according to a report by research firm Canalys. However, the report also noted that the market is gradually recovering, thanks to improved consumer confidence and the introduction of new products.

Samsung remained the leading smartphone brand in India in Q3 2023, with a market share of 18 percent. The South Korean company shipped a total of 7.9 million units. Xiaomi followed closely behind with 7.6 million shipments, followed by Vivo, Realme, and Oppo in the top five positions.

All of the top five smartphone brands in India witnessed a yearly decline in shipments in Q3 2023. Xiaomi saw the biggest decline, with shipments falling by 17 percent. Samsung’s shipments fell by 3 percent, while Vivo’s shipments remained relatively flat. Realme and Oppo’s shipments grew by 6 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

Brands outside the top five like OnePlus, Infinix, Tecno, and Motorola saw impressive growth mainly due to expanding channel presence across India. 

The entry-level smartphone segment performed the best in terms of shipments in Q3 2023, with new offerings offering 5G connectivity. Premium phones from Samsung and Apple also saw robust growth with attractive offers during the festive sales events.

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India is one of the world’s top tech markets. Many brands compete fiercely there to sell more products and outdo their rivals. Some companies even set up India-focused sub-brands, like Realme and Poco, to get ahead in the race. But India’s significance isn’t just about sales numbers. Big companies like Apple, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Qualcomm use India for manufacturing. This seems to work well for the country. Because in 2022, India assembled 2 billion smartphones, and 98% of them were for local customers. Here are the details…

India Emerges as a Global Tech Powerhouse

Before we talk about India’s achievements in smartphones, let’s understand what a current account deficit is. It’s when a country spends more on buying things from other countries than it earns from selling its own stuff to them. This can be risky. One way to fix this is to make more things, especially high-value tech products. And that’s exactly what India did with smartphones.

India recognizes the importance of technology and has been investing in it for a long time. The country is keen on attracting foreign investors and offers various incentives to lure manufacturers. After the shift of production from China due to Covid-19, India’s position in Asia has become even stronger. Now, it’s clear that the country has become a major player in the global smartphone market.

According to recent data from Counterpoint, from 2014 to 2022, India made and sent out 2 billion of its own smartphones. Moreover, it took India just two years to assemble the last 500 million smartphones This big step matches the “Make in India” plan that started in 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The change is huge. In 2014, only 19% of phones were made in India, but by 2022, it was 98%.

Production is still increasing. We often tell you about technology companies investing in India. For example, we recently mentioned that Foxconn, which makes iPhones for Apple, will invest $600 million in India and create 13,000 new jobs. As such events increase, production in the country is expected to grow even more.

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(via)

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A new report released by market research firm Counterpoint Research reveals that 72% of smartphone users in India are anxious about their phone’s battery life. The report highlights the increasing dependence of users on their smartphones and the psychological impact of low-battery anxiety.

40% of people state their phone is the first & last thing they see each day

The study showed that 65% of the respondents reported that a dead battery would affect their mood. Additionally, 72% of respondents said that they started to feel anxious after their phone’s battery fell below 20%. The report also found that 40% of respondents use their phone as the last thing before sleeping and first thing after waking up, indicating the level of attachment users have with their phones.

Further, the study found that 87% of respondents use their phones while charging, and about half charge their smartphones twice a day. The report also revealed that 60% of the respondents said they would change their phones for better battery life.

The study categorized the discomfort associated with low-battery anxiety into six categories: worry/anxiety, isolated from the world, helpless, fear of missing out, nervous, and unsafe. “Worry/anxiety” was the most commonly felt emotion, with 28% of respondents selecting this option.

The findings of the report suggest that smartphone users in India may benefit from improved battery life and charging infrastructure to reduce the level of anxiety associated with low battery. It also highlights the need for manufacturers to prioritize battery life in the development of new smartphones.

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The smartphone market in India has apparently taken a hit in the first quarter of this year. The country has seen a noticeable fall in shipments over the same period year on year, so here are all the details.

This news arrives from the latest report from Canalys. The report claims that the Indian smartphone shipments have dropped by a sizeable 20 percent year on year in Q1 2023. Interestingly, this decline follows after the modest 6 percent drop back in the fourth and final quarter of last year. The report adds that the Indian smartphone market has seen the hit due to issues with market demand and stock build up has also affected various sales channels.

But despite the decline, the South Korean tech giant, Samsung, managed to retain its market leader with a notable 21 percent market share by shipping around 6.3 million units in Q1 2023. On the other hand, Oppo and Vivo took the second and third spots respectively, with both companies accounting for around 18 percent market share. Xiaomi came in fourth with a 16 percent market share, while Realme came fifth with a 9 percent market share.

The Canalys report noted that consumers in India are more comfortable with spending more on premium smartphone models. This means that brands would have to adapt and make its devices be great value for money. According to Sanyam Chaurasia, Analyst at Canalys, “India’s market struggles but vendors remain optimistic. They invest in retail, manufacturing, local sourcing, and R&D to align with the government and consumers. They aim for long term market success.”

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India is reportedly planning to introduce new security rules that would force smartphone manufacturers to allow the removal of pre-installed apps and mandate screening of major operating system updates. The rules are being considered amid concerns about spying and abuse of user data. The move could extend launch timelines in the world’s second-largest smartphone market and lead to losses in business from pre-installed apps for players including Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Apple.

The Indian government is considering the new rules to ensure that pre-installed apps are not weak security points that could be exploited by foreign nations, including China, said a senior government official. The government has ramped up scrutiny of Chinese businesses since a 2020 border clash between the two nations, banning more than 300 Chinese apps, including TikTok.

Under the new rules, smartphone makers will have to provide an uninstall option for pre-installed apps, and new models will be checked for compliance by a lab authorized by the Bureau of Indian Standards agency. The government is also considering mandating screening of every major operating system update before it is rolled out to consumers.

India’s fast-growing smartphone market is dominated by Chinese players, with Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo accounting for almost half of all sales, while Samsung has a 20% share and Apple has 3%. The companies and India’s IT ministry have not responded to a Reuters request for comment.

However, the new rules could pose challenges for smartphone manufacturers, particularly for those that sell their devices with proprietary apps or pre-install others with which they have monetization agreements. Some industry executives have expressed concerns that more testing could prolong approval timelines for smartphones and hinder a company’s go-to-market strategy. Nonetheless, the Indian government has decided to give smartphone makers a year to comply with the new rules once they come into effect, the date for which has not been fixed yet.

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On Saturday, United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke at a roundtable with US and Indian tech business leaders in Bengaluru, stating her eagerness to deepen ties in the technology sector. Yellen highlighted the US approach called “friendshoring” which seeks to bolster the resilience of supply chains by strengthening integration with trusted trading partners, including India. She noted that progress has been made, with technology giants Apple and Google expanding phone production in India.

Yellen went on to explain that the US is investing in digital technologies that will drive inclusive and resilient growth in India through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII). Specifically, investments in agri-tech for climate-smart agricultural production and digital payment systems for micro-entrepreneurs have been announced under the PGII, in addition to investments in renewable energy, health, and other infrastructure sectors in India.

The US aims to mobilize $200 billion through 2027 for the PGII, and Yellen expressed the country’s commitment to partnering with India to continue investing in the future. The roundtable was attended by top chief executives, including Sandip Patel from IBM, Nandan Nilekani from Infosys, and Nivruti Rai from Intel.

Yellen also highlighted the importance of the US-India relationship, noting that the US is India’s biggest trading partner, with bilateral trade totaling over $150 billion in 2021. She emphasized the close people-to-people ties between the two nations, with 2 lakh Indians studying in American schools and universities. Yellen noted that daily dependence on each other is evident, with Indians using WhatsApp to communicate and many American companies relying on Infosys to operate.

Nilekani from Infosys shared the company’s commitment to expanding its education institutes with 1,200 teachers in the US, working with all US universities, and recruiting 7,000 fresh graduates this year. He also stated that Infosys runs India’s completely digital tax system at the backend.

Patel from IBM expressed his enthusiasm for strengthening the US-India trusted technology partnership through proactive policy measures on critical and emerging tech, stating that it would benefit the economies and people of both countries immensely.

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We had recently covered on a report regarding the Indian government possibly banning smartphones made by Chinese brands that are priced under 12,000 INR (roughly 150 US Dollars) in the Indian smartphone market. But now, a new report has hinted that this might not be the case anymore.

For those unaware, the earlier report talked about government officials stating that the move to ban cheaper smartphones from China is to better promote local brands and help them gain a stronger standing in the Indian market. At the moment, handsets made by Chinese OEMs are the most popular models in the region. But it appears that the might not be put into effect. According to a CNBC TV18 report, the government has no immediate plans for such ban as of right now.

The report further adds that even if such a ban is conceptualized by the government, actually enforcing it is a different task entirely. It won’t be so easy and an industry expert claims that three out of every 10 smartphone sold in India is priced under 12,000 INR. And in this price segment, 78 percent of all smartphones sold are made by China based brands. This basically means that these Chinese brands have a dominance in this category of handsets.

On the other hand, brands from the US like Apple, and South Korean tech giant Samsung account for just 20 percent of the Indian market. So, a bit more than just 1 percent of all smartphones sold in India are from Indian companies, like Micromax, Lava, and Karbonn. Thus, it won’t be surprising if the Indian government actually has plans for the future to better even out the playing field for different brands.

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The Indian smartphone market grew 11% YoY, reaching the highest-ever shipments of 169 million units in 2021, and Xiaomi stayed in the lead with almost a quarter of the market share. The festive season didn’t help much during the December quarter, though, with shipments declining 8% YoY owing to supply issues.

Most of the growth was driven by high replacement demand fuelled by increasing smartphone affordability in the mid and high ranges due to offers, discounts, and better financing options (via Counterpoint Research).

The revenue set a new record too, crossing $38 billion in 2021, which is a growth of 27% over 2020. Average selling price rose 14% YoY in 2021 to reach its highest ever at $227 (~₹16,900).

“The price hikes in the budget segment due to component price rise, increasing focus of OEMs on the premium segment, and increased demand for mid-range and premium smartphones due to increasing uses and availability of financing options contributed to the increasing ASP,” research analyst Shilpi Jain says.

Local manufacturing contributed nearly 98% of shipments in 2021, which is an 8% rise compared to 2020. PLI (Production Linked Incentive) schemes have been a great booster to the Indian smartphone manufacturing industry and have attracted the likes of Apple and Samsung.

Moving on to brand-wise distribution, Xiaomi stayed at the top spot, recording a 2% YoY growth. The company grew 258% in the premium segment, thanks to the Mi 11X series, even as component shortages hit hard in the second half of the year.

Samsung remained at the second position in 2021 with an 8% decline in shipments, owing to supply chain disruptions, reduced focus on the entry-level segment, and fewer mid-range launches. This was kind of made up by the Korean company being the top 5G smartphone seller in Q4 2021.

Next up is the fastest growing brand in 2021 — realme — with 20% YoY growth. It also managed to grab second place in Q4 2021 for the very first time.

vivo emerged as the top 5G smartphone company in 2021 with a 19% share, growing 2% YoY, mostly thanks to its Y series and V series.

OPPO stood fifth with 6% YoY growth and was actually the fastest growing brand in the premium segment.

Transsion Group brands comprising itel, Infinix, and TECNO oversaw YoY growth of 55% last year and crossed a landmark 10 million shipments for the first time in the Indian smartphone market in a single year.

Apple registered 108% YoY growth in shipments, becoming one of the fastest-growing brands in 2021, and led the premium segment with a 44% share. OnePlus reached its higher-ever shipments in 2021, crossing the 5-million mark with 59% YoY growth, fuelled by the Nord series.

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The Indian smartphone market saw a 12% growth in 2021 and set a new record sales record, garnering a total of 162 million shipments during the year. While Xiaomi continued to lead the market in terms of shipments, it was realme that was the true winner, registering an annual growth of 25% even as its competitors had to deal with little to negative growth.

The second wave of the pandemic gave a tough start to the year but it was followed by a strong recovery in the second half (via Canalys). In the fourth quarter of 2021 alone, smartphone OEMs shipped 44.5 million devices, defying supply chain constraints.

“India smartphone market dynamics shifted every quarter in 2021,” said Canalys Analyst Sanyam Chaurasia. “COVID-19 crises, volatile consumer demand and supply chain disruptions plagued the market this year. Vendors adapted to the changing environment by focusing on omnichannel, diversifying their supply chains, and expanding their product mix. For example, vendors like realme and Samsung diversified chipset configurations to effectively manage supply.”

The competition also heated up in the low-end segment due to the emergence of new players like Jio. The JioPhone Next with its highly competitive financing options managed to sell several million units. Companies like Infinix and Tecno also saw success in the segment.

But the overall market continued to be gripped by Xiaomi which managed to sell an impressive 40.5 million units, out of which 9.3 million were sold in Q4 2021 alone. The Chinese tech giant was seconded by Samsung that sold 30.1 million units last year, recording a YoY growth of 5%. vivo stood third on the podium with 25.7 million units in 2021, followed by realme with its 24.2 million figure.

Chaurasia expects 5G to go live following spectrum auctions for it this year. And when that happens, 5G smartphones prices are expected to fall significantly amid fierce vendor rivalry.

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The smartphone shipments in India in the first quarter of this year saw a record growth of 23 percent year on year, reaching over 38 million units. This marks the highest first quarter shipments in the country but are expected to lower in the following quarter due to the resurgence of Coronavirus in the region.

According to a Counterpoint Research report, the record rise in shipments in the nation arrives as new product launches paired with promotions, new financial schemes, and pent up demand coming from last year. Research analyst Prachir Singh stated that “Continuing with its stellar run, India’s smartphone market registered a third consecutive quarter of record shipments in Q1 2021, riding on pent-up demand. Consumer confidence also increased due to the beginning of a vaccination drive in the country. But these numbers should be taken with caution as a second and more virulent wave of COVID-19 is currently on in the country and is likely to impact the coming quarters. The consumer demand will take a hit due to the ongoing COVID-19 wave and subsequent lockdowns.”

Furthermore, the report also added that the Chinese brands also held around 75 percent share in the first quarter of 2021. In the local market, Xiaomi led with a 26 percent market share followed by Samsung, Vivo, Realme, and Oppo. Xiaomi managed to hold the lead thanks to the expansion of its local manufacturing capacities with new EMS partners. Samsung also maintained a high number of new product launched in its Galaxy M series, Galaxy F series as well as the Galaxy S21 series as well.

The Indian mobile handset market also grew by 19 percent year on year in Q1 2021 due to the strong performance of both feature phones and smartphone segments. The feature phone market saw a growth of 14 percent year on year. Notably, OnePlus led the 5G smartphone market in the region, with a 33 percent market share while Samsung recorded the largest growth in the region at 52 percent year on year.

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The global smartphone market is showing signs of recovery in the third quarter of 2020. During this time, shipments declined by just 1.3 percent over 2019, with a total of 353.6 million smartphone units being shipped. Samsung Electronics took the top spot in this quarter and even performed better than expected.

The global smartphone market’s shipment results have shown a stronger performance than what was previously estimated. According to an IDC report, the market was initially expected to decline by 9 percent year on year due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Although, the improvements can also be accredited to various nations reopening their economies and gradually relaxing restrictions as well.

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Notably, key markets have also shown strong recovery, with certain nations rebounding faster. India, the second largest smartphone market witnessed high volumes of sales during this quarter despite the pandemic. Similar to its global position, Samsung even reclaimed its throne as the market leader in the Indian market as well. This was likely also due to the pent up demand, which boosted the market growth. Furthermore, aggressive promotions and discounts also played a major part in the recovery.

The South Korean tech giant had a global market share of 22.7 percent in Q3 2020, shipping 80.4 million smartphones overall. This marks a growth of 2.9 percent year on year as well. The largest market for Samsung, which accounted for 15 percent of its total volume, was India. In this region, the company saw great success in the sub 250 US Dollars segment with its latest Galaxy M series of smartphones.

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The Indian smartphone market is showing signs of recovery as the market sees a growth of 8 percent to 50 million units in the third quarter of 2020. This marks an all time record for smartphone shipments in a single quarter.

According to a Canalys report, Xiaomi is still the market leader in the country and saw a growth of 9 percent to ship 13.1 million units during this period. Similarly, Samsung also saw a notable growth of 7 percent in Q3, with total shipments arriving at 10.2 million units. This had the South Korean tech giant regain its 2nd position from Vivo, which now stood 3rd with a total shipment of 8.8 million units with a growth of 19 percent.

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Other Chinese brands like Realme and Oppo rounded up the list with 8.7 million and 6.1 million units respectively. Adwait Mardikar, an analyst from Canalys stated that “The government, slowly but surely reducing restrictions on movement after a three month lockdown, has created the perfect atmosphere for sustained growth. While almost all vendors have shown positive shipment growth, the true winners are the online channels, who have been buoyed with a huge influx of devices ahead of the festive season. Ongoing sales at Amazon and Flipkart are a clear indication that despite the economic downturn, India’s penchant for a good smartphone, and a good bargain, remains intact.”

In other words, as the local market recovers as things normalize after the lockdowns that occurred earlier this year. Furthermore, recent launches paired with sales have also boosted the pent up demand in the nation. Even Apple has finally opened a new direct online store in India, which should broaden its strategy in regards to sales incentives and more. Although, its newly launched iPhone 12 series might be a “tough sell” this year, especially considering 5G networking is yet to be available for the mass market.

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India is one of the largest mobile gaming markets in the world. In recent years, the growth of affordable smartphones along with low cost data being available has made mobile gaming increasingly more accessible. Now, here are the top Indian cities that have been ranked by their mobile gaming experience.

OpenSignal, an analytics based firm, has recently released a report regarding the network experience in 48 Indian cities, and by its extension, the company also measures the cities with their Gaming Experience metric. The list used popular video game titles in the Battle Royale and MOBA genres, including Call of Duty, PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds, and Clash Royale for the rankings. In the rankings, it was found that two state, namely Gujarat and Maharashtra, dominated the entire mobile gaming experience in the country.

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Looking at the scores, Ahmadabad topped the list with a score of 71.7, which is closely followed by Navi Mumbai with a score of 70.1. Similarly, Vadodara and Surat arrive third and fourth with 69.8 and 68 points respectively, while Bhopal rounds the top 5 rankings with a score of 67.8. The focus of this report was also to showcase that the accessibility of affordable smartphones paired with improved network coverage has also led to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities as mentioned above to rise in the rankings.

This is reflected by the fact that Tier 1 cities like Delhi arrive lower in the list. Furthermore, only four out of the eight Tier 1 cities were within the top 20, which included Chennai and Hyderabad, which scored 63.6 and 63.1 points respectively. Meanwhile, other Tier 1 cities like Pune (61.5), Bangalore (61.3), Delhi (59.8), and Kolkata (57.2) placed further down the list in the lower half of the charts.

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A new report from IDC (International Data Corporation) has revealed that the Indian smartphone market has seen a sharp decline of 50.6 percent to 18.2 million units being shipped in the second quarter of 2020.

The primary reason for the sizeable decline was the Coronavirus pandemic and the government mandated lockdown that was in effect, majorly throughout the first half of 2020. Various smartphones OEMs had to shut down their local manufacturing/assembly lines in the region, while resumption occurred only in partial capacities as well. Furthermore, components from abroad were also stuck at the ports, waiting to be cleared, especially the ones from China.

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However, sales in June 2020 did rise but mainly due to the pent up demand that rose during the lockdown period. Although, purchases were found to be mainly driven by availability rather than choice. In this period, the online channels held a high market share of 44.8 percent but declined by 39.9 percent YoY. The average selling price of smartphones was around 161 US Dollars with Xiaomi leading the smartphone market, followed by Samsung and Vivo.

Even physical stores adapted as “Many offline channel partners adopted new ways of marketing by reaching out to consumers through social media platforms, WhatsApp, references, etc., for doorstep demos and deliveries, as well as accepting contactless payments. However, these initiatives were limited to big and medium-size retail outlets in metros and Tier 1/2 cities, and was not able to arrest the steep annual decline of -56.8% for the offline channel,” according to a researcher at IDC.

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Samsung Electronics is making a comeback in the Indian smartphone market with a lineup of new affordable smartphones and improved online presence in the region, according to a Reuters report.

The South Korean tech giant is out to regain market grounds it had lost to Chinese rival, Xiaomi. Notably, Samsung is the only major non-Chinese OEM in the country and has already started gaining momentum. This is further backed by the anti-Chinese sentiments that are growing in the nation due to a prior military clash in the border regions between both nations.

According to a previous Counterpoint report, Samsung came in second in India’s smartphone market, with a 26 percent market share in Q2 2020. The company trailed behind Xiaomi that took the lead with a 29 percent market share in the same period. Despite being the dominating figure in the world’s second largest smartphone market, Samsung has slowly been losing ground to Chinese OEMs in recent years.

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But now, the company is seemingly building the momentum again, with seven recent smartphone launches in June, out of which, three were priced under 10,000 INR (roughly 133 US Dollars). A source close to the matter stated that, “The COVID crisis has pushed people to use smartphones for everything from online education to digital payments to even connecting with friends on video calls. That’s why these budget phones are focused on the mass market.”

Furthermore, a company executive also said that “Samsung is India’s No.2 smartphone brand after Apple by image, So a phone priced between 6,000 rupees to 15,000 rupees from Samsung is very well placed today to capture market share from Chinese rivals.” In other words, the vendor is strengthening its budget offerings to better suit the market demand.

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The smartphone market of India witnessed its worst performance in recent years in Q2 2020. According to Canalys, the overall market declined by 48% YoY during the period from April to June. As for companies, though Xiaomi continued its lead, Realme slipped to the fifth position, which was surpassed by none other than its former parent and current sister brand Oppo.

The Indian smartphone market shipped a total of 17.3 million units in the second quarter of 2020. As always, Xiaomi ranked first accounting for 30.9% market share with 5.3 million units of shipments.

Vivo retained the second position, which it first grabbed in Q4 2019. The company shipped 3.7 million units with a 21.3% market share. Samsung was the third-largest company in the same period capturing 16.8% of the market with shipments of 2.9 million units.

Interestingly, Oppo snatched the fourth position from Realme with 2.2 million units in shipments compared to the latter’s 1.7 million units. Both of them had 12.9% and 10% market shares respectively.

Lastly, OEMs including Apple, OnePlus, Lenovo Motorola, Asus, Tecno, Infinix, and others only accounted for 8.1% of the total market in Q2 2020 with 1.4 million units in shipments. But the Cupertino-based tech giant was the least affected of all the brands with only a 20% YoY drop in its shipments.

It is worth noting that the global pandemic was the primary reason for the decrement in shipments. Anti-China sentiments did not affect the Chinese smartphone companies as much as people portrayed on social media.

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A new survey undertaken by 91Mobiles has just revealed a few interesting points regarding the future of the Indian smartphone market. According to the Buyer Insights Survey 2020, Samsung is expected to see more growth in the coming months, which will likely affect its rival brands like Xiaomi.

In the survey, it was found that the South Korean tech giant will overtake Xiaomi as the smartphone brands customers are likely to choose for their next handset upgrade in the next 1 or 2 years. In other words, Samsung might be the more popular choice for a new smartphone a person would want to move over to. Looking at the statistics provided, the graph shows the percentage of people that would like to buy either Samsung or Xiaomi as their next device in both 2019 and 2020.

Samsung saw an increase from 17 percent in 2019 to 24 percent in 2020, while Xiaomi saw a decrease from 24 percent in 2019 to 20 percent in 2020. Thus, the trend is indicative of a complete switch in positions in the market. Similarly, the survey also included the criteria of brand loyalty or sticking by your favorite brand with your next upgrade. Here again, Xiaomi saw a decrease, down from 56 percent in 2019 to 51 percent in 2020. On the other hand, Samsung saw a rise from 53 percent in 2019 to 59 percent in 2020.

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The survey also talked about the overall preference of the customer, which has Samsung see a rise of 6.6 percent from 2019 over 2020, while Xiaomi saw a decline of 4.4 percent during the same period. Notably, Realme has seen impressive growth of 10.4 percent in this time with various factors weighing in. Analyzing the graph, Xiaomi’s slow adoption of features like punch hole display and higher fast charging rates in their mid range offerings might have been the reason for the decline.

Brands like Realme have become a notable figure in the Indian smartphone market, thanks to its lucrative pricing and up to date specs and features. Despite these figures being highly detailed, one must keep in mind other important aspects as well. Firstly, the survey is done not to include the entire market, so they might not be completely accurate. And secondly, the smartphone market is highly volatile and dynamic, with changes in position and popularity seemingly shifting in mere days. So while the data depicts a certain image now, the same might not hold true in the months that follow. Although, the trend that shows an increase in competition in the market will only benefit the consumer at the end of the day.

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(Source)

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The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted various economies and industries. The smartphone business is no exception with OEMs struggling to restart production in many parts of the globe, especially in India. Now, Xiaomi and Oppo are starting to import smartphones from their home country of China to meet the market demands as their Indian factories are still struggling to resume operations.

For those unaware, the Indian government had imposed a nationwide lockdown two months prior, which even saw factories being shut down due to the ongoing crisis. However, unlike with the case of China, smartphone vendors have been struggling with the resumption of operations in the region, with various resumed production sites being sites of confirmed COVID-19 infections, thus causing another closure.

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Two of the most popular brands in the Indian market, Xiaomi and Oppo are also suffering from this issue. The latter’s plant in Great Noida also closed down last month, only to recently open but with a 30 percent capacity. Similarly, other vendors like OnePlus and Realme are also considering importing as an option during this time. Although, this move would have the companies facing a 22 percent import duty, which will inevitably raise their handset offerings’ prices.

Xiaomi India officials have recently stated that the company is currently at a 40-45 percent production capacity, with Vivo being at a similar level. Notably, the Chinese tech giant has already raised the cost of a few of its affordable low end smartphones in the market, and this trend could soon be reflected in its other offerings as well. Although, we will have to wait and see as to how the situation plays out in the near future as the Indian government is slowly easing its restrictions within the country.

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(Via)

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A new report from IDC and Counterpoint Research, two well known analytics firms, has revealed that the Indian smartphone market is witnessing a slump. The reports suggest that the sales will fall by 13 to 15 percent due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

India is the world’s second largest smartphone market. Various Chinese OEMs and other major brands in the industry consider it a key market and fight for a better foothold in the region. However, due to the viral outbreak, the local government had to employ a strict and mandatory lockdown that even caused smartphone manufacturing plants to shut down as well. At the moment, there is an economic crisis with salary deductions being a common measure being taken in both the private and government organizations.

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This translates to overall lower revenue being generated by working members of the family, and, by its extension, makes them less likely to purchase a new smartphone. Currently, various foreign smartphone vendors that have opened up manufacturing plants in the region have been facing difficulties in ramping up production to meet demands, making imports necessary. However, the customs duty and GST taxes of 12 to 18 percent have made certain smartphone pricing rise as a consequence.

The best example of this is Xiaomi raising the prices of certain budget Redmi smartphone twice in a single month. According to IDC, the Indian smartphone market may only sell 130 million handset units in 2020 (which is below its original projection of 140 million units), down from 158 million units from 2019. Similarly, Counterpoint Research also dropped its initial estimation down from 147 million units to just 137 million units being shipped this year.

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(Via)

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Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, multiple smartphone brands in India are struggling with various issues. As of right now, most production lines in the country have been shut down due to a Government mandated lockdown, while offline stores that are deemed non-essential are also to remain closed. Thus, OEMs are now reducing their offline workers while also looking for rent waivers.

Since the physical stores cannot remain open and bring in no value or sales. Smart brands are downsizing their employees that act as in-store promoters or salespersons, and are also looking into getting waivers for the rent from landowners of their stores. Xiaomi is one such company that is seeking for a waiver of at least three months.

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On the other hand, companies like HMD Global and Lenovo–Motorola are now reducing the number of offline workers for their stores and are also cutting incentives for retailers. According to official announcements, these stores are sitting on inventory and will likely not be making any sales for at least a whole quarter.

For those unaware, a new strand of Coronavirus had been discovered in China. Since then, the viral infection has spread to upwards of 170 countries and has been recognized as a global pandemic. It is highly infectious with a number of confirmed cases has crossed a million a few days ago. Thus, various governments like India are taking drastic measures and lockdowns to help curb the infection spreading any further.

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Xiaomi, the popular smartphone manufacturer, has stated that it expects a short term fall in its smartphone sales in the first quarter of 2020. The primary reason for this is the recent Coronavirus pandemic that has affected the world but is also expecting the demand to soon pick up.

According to Lei Jun, Founder and CEO of Xiaomi, “While the entire world is still under the dark shadows of COVID-19, we have maintained our keen focus on efficiency to tide over this economic ‘black swan’ with everyone.” In other words, despite having to also shut down its factory and production lines temporarily, the company is almost back up to its full capacity.

For those unaware, the Chinese government had initially taken steps to curb the further spreading of the viral outbreak. This was mainly done by shutting down manufacturing sites and other places with a large number of workers. As of right now, Xiaomi has indicated that 80 to 90 percent of its production capacity in China has been revitalized, according to senior executives in a conference call.

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Wang Xiang, the President of Xiaomi, also mentioned that “production was affected, but the pace of recovery has exceeded expectations.” Wang said that the effects of the COVID-19 have been lesser on the Chinese tech giant over its other rivals in major smartphone markets like India, Europe, and the US. Just last week, Xiaomi opened more than 1,800 retail stores in China, with 80 percent of its suppliers also have resumed operations.

Xiaomi is among many OEMs that had to suspend its production in India, after the local government issued a 21 day countrywide lockdown. Analysts are expecting smartphone shipments to fall during this time by about 50 percent, in comparison to Q1 of 2019. However, the overall Indian smartphone market may see a 4.2 percent decline this year in the worst case scenario.

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A new Counterpoint report has revealed that OnePlus, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, has grabbed the top spot in the Indian smartphone market in the premium segments.

In recent years, OnePlus has grown significantly to become one of the most recognized smartphone brands in the Indian subcontinent. According to the Counterpoint report, the company led the premium smartphone segment with a 33 percent market share. This marks the first time the company took the top spot while also surpassing 2 million smartphone shipments in India, within 2019.

On the other hand, the previous market leader, Samsung, arrives second with a market share of just 26 percent in the same market segment. Apple follows close behind the South Korean tech giant with a 25 percent market share and was touted to be the fastest growing premium smartphone brand in 2019; marking a 41 percent year on year bump over 2019. The success of the Cupertino based giant has been accredited to its popular and relatively affordable offering, the iPhone XR.

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The premium segment in India includes smartphones sold above which are priced at 30,000 INR (or roughly 421 US Dollars) or above. Notably, this segment also saw remarkable growth with an overall market rise of 29 percent over 2018, reaching record breaking smartphone shipments as well.

Pete Lau, Founder and CEO of OnePlus, stated that “2019 has been a remarkable year for us at OnePlus. Every milestone we have achieved strengthened our pursuit for excellence in technology. We will remain dedicated towards creating burden-less and best-in-class user experience.”

Notably, the company’s OnePlus 7 series of smartphones has emerged as the most popular premium segment smartphone in the Southeast Asian country in 2019. The device’s popularity is said to have been boosted. Furthermore, even the ultra-premium segment which includes devices over 45,000 INR also saw impressive growth of 63 percent over 2018, with OnePlus also offerings more handsets in this segment as well.

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2019 was an important year for the smartphone market in India. Counterpoint Research reports that the Indian smartphone market has officially overtaken the U.S. as the world’s second-largest market in terms of annual shipments. The growth was driven by the mid-tier segment in the region from Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Vivo, and Realme. Notably, India is already the second-largest market in the world in terms of the total handset install base but this is a new milestone for the growing market.

Q4 2019 also saw some changes in the positioning of brands in terms of market share in India. While Xiaomi retained a 27% market share in the final quarter of 2019, Vivo made a significant jump in the same period, overtaking Samsung as the second-largest smartphone maker in the region. Vivo’s market share grew from a mere 10% in 2018 to an incredible 21% in Q4 2019. On the other hand, Samsung’s market share dipped to 19% in the same period.

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Vivo’s incredible growth was reportedly driven by the new ‘U‘ and ‘Z‘ models in India. The brand has renewed its focus on e-commerce platforms and offers fat commissions to offline retailers to promote its models, with a special focus on lower-tier cities.

Samsung’s declining market share has further helped Vivo rise to second place in the Indian market. In fact, Samsung’s market share in India was at its lowest (19%) in the final quarter of 2019 since 2016.

Realme’s market share dipped quite significantly in the last quarter of 2019. It fell from 16% in Q3 2019 to 8% in Q4 2019. This also allowed OPPO to overtake the brand to become the fourth-largest smartphone maker in the final quarter of the year. OPPO’s market share increased from 8% in Q3 2019 to 12% in Q4 2019 as it shipped nearly 2x smartphones in the last quarter vs the previous one.

In terms of overall market share in 2019, Xiaomi and Samsung retained their first and second places respectively, just like in 2018. Vivo made significant progress in 2019 increasing its overall market share from just 10% in 2018 to a solid 16% in 2019. But Realme was the fastest-growing smartphone brand in India in 2019 registering a staggering 255% growth. Realme’s market share increased to 10% in 2019 as compared to just 3% in 2019. OPPO’s growth in 2019 was relatively slow but it still managed to increase its shipments by 28% last year.

We can also see a change in the dynamics of the Indian smartphone market. In 2019, smartphone shipments were concentrated among the top five brands in India than ever before. The top 5 smartphone makers took a staggering 84% share of the market last year, a significant jump from 2018’s 73%. This means that the top five brands in India are increasingly strengthening their foothold in the market while other brands like Motorola and Huawei are losing their ground.

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Value-for-money smartphones which offer top-of-the-line specifications at an affordable price point are becoming more and more popular, especially in emerging countries. Consumers are now looking at four major features — RAM, chipset, camera performance, and battery life.

One brand that seems to be ticking all the boxes for a majority of the users is OnePlus. The company has been the leading smartphone brand in the premium segment in India for quite some time and as per the latest report from Counterpoint Market Monitor Service says that the brand leads the segment in 2018 as well.

According to Counterpoint’s report for Q4 2018, the company has managed to capture 36 percent of the premium smartphone market retaining its No. 1 position for the third quarter consecutively. The report further adds that in the same quarter, Apple and Samsung’s market share in the premium smartphone segment in India stood at 30 percent and 26 percent respectively.

It notes that the demand for the OnePlus 6T — the company’s latest flagship smartphone — was high during Diwali festive season sale in India and the momentum continues even after the festive season due to strong word of mouth and product feedback from the users.

Overwhelmed with this feat, OnePlus took to Twitter to troll Apple. The company’s tweet announcing the achievement didn’t directly call out Apple but it made reference to Apple’s voice assistant Siri. The tweet employed Apple’s style of capitalization in writing the words “iDare you”. It also took a dig at Apple saying, “Hey Siri, which is India’s No. 1 Premium Smartphone?”

For the company, OnePlus was the highest selling smartphone for the year 2018, followed by the recently launched OnePlus 6T. The company was named as the fastest growing premium smartphone brand, growing at around 85 percent year-on-year.

OnePlus has also managed to widen the gap with its nearest competitor by 10 percent. The company is also expected to reach a wider user base with its expansion into the offline space as well as with its exclusive experience store.

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The latest smartphone from the company — OnePlus 6T is currently available in India in three configurations — 6GB RAM + 128GB internal storage, 8GB RAM + 128GB storage, and 8GB RAM with 256GB internal storage.

The 6GB RAM model is priced at Rs. 37,999 while the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage model is available for Rs. 41,999 (~$591) . The top-end model, on the other hand, is priced at Rs. 45,999 (~$637). The OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition with 10GB RAM is priced at Rs. 59,999, which roughly converts to $844.

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