Smartphone shipments drop 48% in April-June; Xiaomi worst-impacted

Smartphone shipments have seen a drastic fall in the April-June period due to the coronavirus lockdown. Phone shipments fell 48 per cent on year, as mentioned in a report by Canalys. Around 17.3 million smartphones were shipped in the quarter, as compared to 33 million in the previous year. Apple was the least impacted among the top 10 players, while Samsung was the most affected, stated the report.

Even though market leader Xiaomi saw a dramatic fall, it still retained its top position. Xiaomi shipments fell 48 per cent on year, taking down its share to 30.9 per cent from 31.3 per cent a year ago. Vivo's shipments also fell 36 per cent but its market share increased to 21.3 per cent from 17.5 per cent the year before.

Samsung saw a mammoth fall of 60 per cent, with its market share dipping to 16.8 per cent from the 22.1 per cent earlier. The phonemaker was severely impacted as its largest manufacturing plant outside of Vietnam was shut for most of the quarter.

Oppo's shipments fell 27 per cent, while Realme's fell 35 per cent. Oppo overtook Realme to grab the fourth position. Apple's shipments fell 20 per cent becoming the least-impacted of the top 10.

Canalys analyst Madhumita Chaudhary said, "It's been a rocky road to recovery for the smartphone market in India." She said that while vendors witnessed a crest in sales as soon as markets opened, production facilities struggled with staff shortages. They also had to deal with new regulations for manufacturing which resulted in poor output, she said. "Fluidity of the lockdown situation has had a deep-rooted effect on vendors' go-to-market strategies," stated Chaudhury.

Research analyst Adwait Mardikar said, "Vendors are driving the message to consumers, eager to position their brand as 'India-first'. Despite this, the effect on Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Realme is likely to be minimal, as alternatives by Samsung, Nokia, or even Apple are hardly price-competitive."

Also read: Coronavirus impact: Global smartphone market dips 13% - fastest decline ever

Also read: Coronavirus impact: Smartphone shipments to dip 48% in June quarter