- During the second quarter, Samsung closed the gap with smartphone market leader Xiaomi on the back of its strategy of India first and launch of Galaxy A and M series.
- The Indian smartphone market grew 5 percent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2019.
A new report by CyberMedia Research (CMR) said on Monday, “ Six out of every seven smartphones sold in India belonged to top five smartphone brands- Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo, Realme and OPPO. The Indian smartphone market grew 5 percent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2019.”
Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR, said in a statement, “ Since the smartphone market is getting distributed among the top five brands, the potential market is decreasing significantly for other brands. To gain popularity and succeed in the Indian smartphone market, an India-centric approach, and strong thrust on technological innovation and value proposition remains key.”
During the second quarter, Samsung closed the gap with smartphone market leader Xiaomi on the back of its strategy of India first and launch of Galaxy A and M series.
Ram added to his statement, “The India smartphone market is increasingly driven by affordable smartphones between the range of Rs. 7,000- Rs. 25,000. Smartphone companies are focusing on customer upgrades from entry-level buyers to affordable and premium segment (Rs. 25,000) with interesting new plans.”
OPPO, Vivo, Realme and OnePlus who are owned by China-based BBK group has pulled alongside Xiaomi to capture a combined 30 percent share.
Another analyst from IIG, CMR, Anand Priya Singh mentioned, “ Realme is the youngest brand in the Indian smartphone market with its focus on technological innovations and market-leading specifications as well as aggressive market pricing. It became the fastest brand to secure 8 percent market share.”
“2nd half will see increased competition among the phone brands as the festive period approaches. It will be a good time for Smartphone brands including Samsung and Realme will build upon the market success and gain further ground,” noted Ram.
On the other hand, the feature phone market in India declined hugely by around 27 percent on the back of lower demand for JioPhone.
Jio saw a 56 percent annual drop in shipments as compared to 2nd quarter of 2018 but Samsung, Lava, and itel registered positive growth during the Q2 2019. Nokia had a drop of 21 percent in shipments on Year-over-Year basis.
The top five feature phone brands contributed 78% of the shipments.
