Smartphones (Indian market)

2024: Indian market takes over $13 smartphones. Why they're so cheap

In mid-October 2024, it became known that the Indian market was being seized by ultra-budget smartphones with support for 4G mobile communications. The cost of such devices is at the level of 1100 rupees, or about $13 (as of the specified date). Read more here.

2023:1% growth in smartphone sales to 146 million units, changes in the top three

In 2023, approximately 146 million smartphones were sold in India, which is 1% more than the previous year. At the same time, in the first half of 2023, a decline in supplies was recorded by 10%, and in the second - a rise of 11%. The top three have seen changes, according to an IDC report released on February 13, 2024.

Analysts note that macroeconomic factors and high inflation continue to have a negative impact on consumer demand. As a result, excessive stocks of devices are formed in sales channels. At the same time, the average price of smartphones sold in 2023 reached a record high of $255, rising 14% year-on-year. This is due to the growing popularity of 5G models and an increase in the share of premium devices (worth more than $600) from 6% in 2022 to 10% in 2023.

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IDC

Samsung remains the leader in the Indian smartphone market with a share of 17% versus 18.1% in 2022. Chinese Vivo took the second place, showing a result of 15.2%: a year earlier, this company occupied 14.1% of the local market. Rounding out the top three, as in 2022, is Realme, but its share has shrunk from 14.5% to 12.5%. Xiaomi, which in 2022 was on the second line with 17.8%, dropped to fourth place in 2023 with 12.4%. Closes the top five Oppo, whose share fell from 11.9% to 10.3%. The top ten also included Apple (6.4%), OnePlus (6.1%), Poco (4.9%), Infinix (3.1%) and Tecno (2.9%).

The study says that in 2023, about 1 million foldable smartphones equipped with a flexible display were sold in India. Their average annual cost fell by 4% to $1,236. Samsung continues to lead in this segment, but this South Korean company is under increasing pressure from competitors such as Motorola, Tecno, OnePlus and Oppo.^[1]

2022:9% reduction in smartphone sales to 152 million units

In 2022, approximately 152 million smartphones were sold in India, which is 9% less than the previous year. Such data are provided in the results of the Counterpoint Technology Market Research study, published on January 27, 2023.

Analysts note that the recorded decline in shipments on an annualized basis is the second in the history of the Indian smartphone market. It may be due to a decrease in sales in the segment of inexpensive devices due to insufficient supplies at the beginning of the year. At the same time, the premium sector continued to grow and for the first time showed a double-digit share - 11% at the end of 2022. This led to an increase in the average retail cost of devices.

Xiaomi remained the largest player in the Indian smartphone market in 2022 with a share of approximately 20% in unit terms. Samsung is in second place with 19%, and Vivo closes the top three with 16%. This is followed by Realme and Oppo - 14% and 10%, respectively. All other brands collectively hold 20% of the industry.

If we consider the smartphone market in India in monetary terms, then the championship belongs to Samsung, whose share in 2022 was 22%. Apple is second with 18%, while Vivo is third with 15%. This is followed by Xiaomi, which took 14%, and Oppo, with 9%. The total share of other suppliers was 23%.

The Counterpoint report says that smartphones with 5G support in 2022 occupied 32% of the Indian market, and Samsung became the leader in this segment with a 21% share. Apple continued to hold the lead in the premium smartphone segment, with the iPhone 13 becoming the best-selling model. In general, as noted, the demand for smartphones in India began to decline from the second quarter of 2022, when the global economy faced numerous problems, such as record high inflation, growing unemployment and geopolitical conflicts.^[2]

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