In the first three months of 2022, smartphone manufacturers shipped a combined 38 million units in India. That represents a small decline of 1% year-on-year, with this being mostly attributed to continued component shortages.
A third COVID-19 wave that extended into January also impacted these numbers, although Counterpoint Research reports that demand had largely recovered by the end of the month.
Xiaomi is still winning India, although its share is falling
Moving on to the market breakdown, Xiaomi retained its spot as the leading brand in India with a 23% market share. In other words, almost a quarter of all phones sold between January and March were Xiaomi-branded. These results represent a noticeable decrease compared to a year ago, however. Xiaomi’s shipments in India dropped 13-year-on-year because of inflation, shortages, and intense competition.
Samsung is the 5G leader, as well as the 2nd brand overall
Following in a close second was Samsung with a 1% decline in shipments and a market share of 20%, matching the level achieved a year earlier. While shortages have been experienced across the entire smartphone industry, Samsung appears to have been less affected by them.Counterpoint Research highlighted Samsung’s new Galaxy S22 series as a reason for its success lately. It also noted the brand’s decision to revamp the Galaxy A series and Galaxy M lineup in recent months. While the South Korean giant couldn’t quite beat Xiaomi overall, it did occupy the number one spot in the 5G market. Samsung also took the lead in the $400-600 segment, which sits right below the flagship one.
Realme has now overtaken both Vivo and Oppo
Realme was perhaps the biggest winner in India between January and March. Its shipments surged 40% compared to a year ago, helping it leap from 5th to 3rd place on the leaderboard. This success comes down to the company’s focus on the online segment and its smaller portfolio of devices that target a wider audience, per the report.
Realme’s decision to cut costs with UNISOC has been welcomed too. That speaks to the brand’s ability to market its smartphones to the Indian market, since local consumers tend to be very well-informed when it comes to specifications and often prefer chipsets from well-known brands like Qualcomm.
Apple and OnePlus are doing well in their respective segments
Other brands worth mentioning are Apple and OnePlus, although neither is close to breaking into the top 5 anytime soon. The latter has seen its shipments increase by a whopping 347% compared to Q1 2021, thanks to the popularity of the OnePlus 9RT and OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G.
