India topples US to become world's second largest smartphone market
The demand for smartphones has been on a roll ever since affordable Chinese players such as Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus and Xiaomi have entered the market, to name a few
After China overtook the United States to become the biggest smartphone market in 2013, India, as per a recent report by Canalys, has now overtaken the United States to become the world’s second-largest smartphone market after China.
After a setback in Q2 2017, India’s smartphone market is back with a bang as it has shipments grew by 23 percent year on year in Q3 2017 to reach just over 40 million units.
Samsung and Xiaomi, who shipped around 9.4 million and 9.2 million units respectively, accounted for almost half of the total market.
The top five players- Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and Lenovo- make for 75 percent of India’s smartphone market (Courtesy: Canalys)
India’s growth in the smartphone market has been fuelled by the need for mid-range and high-end smartphones. Major Chinese mobile manufacturers have partly played a role in bolstering investments in the country.
“There are close to 100 mobile device brands sold in India, with more vendors arriving every quarter. In addition, India has one of the most complex channel landscapes, but with low barriers to entry. Growth will continue. Low smartphone penetration and the explosion of LTE are the main drivers,” said Canalys Research Analyst Ishan Dutt.
Xiaomi’s propulsion to the No. 2 spot can be credited to its business strategy of targeting mid-range and low-range smartphone market by offering the best features for the price.
“Xiaomi’s growth is a clear example of how a successful online brand can effectively enter the offline market while maintaining low overheads,” said Canalys Analyst Rushabh Doshi.
Xiaomi has recently opened up its second factory in India.
Samsung too is eyeing a brighter future here and has announced plans of doubling the size of its existing production plant. Post-completion, it will be able to produce 10 million smartphones every month, as per a report in Android Authority.
Samsung, Oppo and Vivo are stronger in the midfield range bracket.
It is surprising that Apple is missing in the charts, despite doubling shipments in Q3. The unimpressive numbers may be attributed to a low-end smartphone orientation of the Indian market. The company began local assembling in India earlier this year with the iPhone SE as the first model.
