The Indian smartphone market witnessed a significant 25 per cent year-on-year growth in the last quarter of 2023, according to a report by Counterpoint. Xiaomi emerged as the market leader with an 18 per cent share, a position it hadn't held since Q3 2022. Vivo maintained its second position, while Samsung slipped to third after leading the market for four consecutive quarters. Realme and Oppo rounded out the top five.
The surge in the market was largely driven by the increased adoption of 5G smartphones, which accounted for 61 per cent of the market. Notably, affordable 5G phones priced between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 15,000 contributed to 24 per cent of total smartphone shipments. The premium smartphone segment also saw a significant boost, growing by 51 per cent. Apple led this segment with a 17 per cent market share, largely due to the launch of the iPhone 15 series.
Interestingly, while Apple did not feature in the top five positions in shipments, it surpassed the ten million mark in revenue for the first time in a calendar year, leading the category. This indicates a strong performance in the premium segment and a growing appetite for high-end smartphones among Indian consumers.
Despite the robust growth in Q4, the overall smartphone shipments in India for 2023 remained flat at 152 million units. Counterpoint attributes this to macroeconomic turbulence leading to low demand and an inventory build-up in the first half of 2023. However, the market started recovering in the second half of the year, supported by 5G upgrades and better-than-expected festive sales.
For the year 2023, Samsung held the top position with an 18 per cent market share, marking the first time the South Korean tech giant led a calendar year since 2017. Vivo followed closely with a 17 per cent share, while Xiaomi, Realme, and Oppo held the next three spots with 16.5 per cent, 12 per cent, and 10.5 per cent of the market share, respectively.
Also read: Samsung, Google are making phones like Galaxy S24 Ultra, Pixel 8 even better with AI; here’s how