Indian smartphone market may have fallen by a third in Oct-Dec

The Indian smartphone market is likely to have fallen by almost a third on year - the sharpest such quarterly decline in the non-Covid times - in the October-December period, when Korea's Samsung is likely to have dethroned China's Xiaomi from the top slot after five years, market trackers said.

Some have once again lowered their shipment outlook for 2022.

November saw the steepest monthly decline ever - 50% sequentially and 43% on-year - as low demand for the high-volume entry-level smartphone segment continued to take a hit, following up on a slower-than-usual festive season, said Counterpoint Research.

It added that Apple is likely to have cracked the top five for the first time ever in November. But for the full fourth quarter, the iPhone maker may still be out of the top five, experts said.

"This has been the biggest sequential decline in a non-lockdown month in the Indian smartphone market. The low consumer demand post festive season, as well as high pent-up inventory in the channels, were the top reasons for this trend," said Prachir Singh, senior analyst, Counterpoint Research.