India's premium smartphone segment sees a 20% growth in 2017; Apple, Samsung and OnePlus account for 94% share

The premium smartphone segment in India witnessed over 20 percent growth in 2017 over the previous year, driven by strong uptake of devices from the stables of Apple and OnePlus, a report by Counterpoint Research today said.

Apple iPhone X. Image: Reuters

The premium smartphone segment (priced Rs 30,000 onwards) was the second-fastest growing segment (20 percent year-on-year) by volume, while it expanded by 28 percent in value terms in 2017, Counterpoint said.

The report added that while the segment is "more crowded than a year ago", three brands — Apple, OnePlus and Samsung — still contribute to 94 percent of the overall premium market segment.

The Rs 10,000-15,000 grew at the fastest pace. Apple was the segment leader with 47 percent share in the October-December quarter and 38 percent share for the entire calendar year, driven by strong shipments of iPhone X and iPhone 7.

OnePlus was the fastest growing brand (over 343 percent growth) in the segment and captured 25 percent share during the fourth quarter and 19 percent share for 2017, the report said.

"It was the second successive quarter for OnePlus to capture the second position in the premium smartphone segment, surpassing Samsung," it said adding that Samsung had 8 percent share in the December 2017 quarter.

Apple's iPhone X was the leading model in the premium segment, capturing one-fifth of shipments, followed by the OnePlus 5T and Samsung Note 8, Counterpoint said.

"Going forward, we expect the premium segment to continue to grow by more than 20 percent, both in terms of volume and value in 2018, as more brands are likely to enter the segment," the report said.

These include Oppo, Vivo and Huawei, which have some of their best selling models in China already in this segment, it added.