As the Indian smartphone market returned to double digit growth (18 per cent) year-on-year after a flat first quarter growth, Samsung has regained the top spot after receding it to Xiaomi two quarters ago.
According to Counterpoint Research, Samsung regained its lead in Q2 2018 with 29 per cent market share thanks to strong performance of models such as Galaxy J6, Galaxy J2 2018 and Galaxy J4 focusing on the budget segment.
“Additionally, the strong offline distribution and aggressive marketing campaign around its J series helped the brand to gain not only market but also mind share during the quarter. 2H 2018 is likely to be a close race between Samsung and Xiaomi especially during the important upcoming festive season,” said Karn Chauhan, Research Analyst, Counterpoint Research.
Xiaomi recorded its highest ever shipments in India during Q2 2018. The growth can be attributed to its strong product and supply chain strategy which has allowed it to launch products with a longer shelf life than its competitors and that too in the important sub-10k (
The top five brands captured a record 82 per cent share of the total smartphone market during the quarter and Reliance Jio captured almost half of the total feature phone market driven by the success of its Jiophone, its highest ever.
Reliance Jio is likely to maintain the growth momentum as it refreshed its Jiophone coupled with aggressive upgrade offer of Rs 501 (
Vivo shipments increased sequentially driven by new launches, celebrity endorsement and aggressive campaign around IPL 2018. Its V9 became its most popular V series smartphone ever.
During the quarter OPPO launched its sub-brand Realme in a bid to increase its online presence. Realme which debuted in partnership with Amazon quickly managed to grab one per cent share of the total smartphone market due to value for money, unique industrial design and positive customer feedback for its initial model.
OnePlus (284 per cent), Honor (188 per cent) and Xiaomi (112 per cent) were the fastest growing smartphone brands during the quarter. Honor continues to retain its share among top five brands while OnePlus lead the premium (>Rs 30,000) segment for the first time ever.
According to the report, Apple had a slow quarter as it underwent changes in its distribution strategy. Apart from this, its domestic assembling is yet to pick up pace, which means the Cupertino giant is still relying on imports for its sales in India. Apple had only one per cent market share during the quarter, its lowest in recent history.
Lava is the only local brand which registered positive annual growth during the quarter driven by entry level models including its first Android Go device – Z50.
Transsion group led by itel, Tecno, Infinix and Spice continues to grow in smartphone segment in India. Tecno grew 74 per cent sequentially as it brought full screen and facial unlock features at an entry level price during the quarter.
