The market was mostly dominated by Chinese brands like Xiaomi and realme
India’s smartphone shipments witnessed an 82 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth to reach over 33 million units in the second quarter of 2021, according to the research firm Counterpoint.
However, the market declined 14 per cent sequentially due to a fall in consumer sentiment during the second COVID-19 wave. But the decline was less than expected due to the resilient nature of the smartphone market, the research firm’s report added.
Senior Research Analyst Prachir Singh said, “The market saw a pent-up demand in June as restrictions were lifted and stores started to reopen. Offline-centric brands were more affected during April and May as consumers were preferring online channels for purchases.”
Brands like Xiaomi and Realme were able to maintain high volumes leveraging their better online reach, Singh said.
Xiaomi continued to reign the Indian smartphone market with a 28 per cent share. South Korean giant Samsung held the position of the second-largest brand in India’s smartphone shipments, registering 25 per cent YoY growth.
“Samsung reached its highest-ever online share, an indication that the brand’s online channel strategy is working well along with its e-store,” the report said.
With 61 per cent YoY growth, Vivo stood at the third position while Chinese smartphone maker Realme grew 140 per cent YoY in Q2 2021 and captured the fourth position.
Realme, however, led the market in 5G smartphone shipments, capturing more than 22 per cent share. It also became the fastest brand to reach 50 million cumulative smartphone shipments in India.
Other brands that witnessed a surge in demand-led growth included OPPO grew 103 per cent YoY and a 10 per cent market share in Q2 2021 and Apple with 144 per cent growth. OnePlus at 200 per cent growth in Q2 2021 driven by the OnePlus 9 Series. The brand led the premium market with a 34 per cent share and was also the top 5G smartphone brand in the premium segment in the quarter capturing a 48 per cent share.
On the other hand, India’s mobile handset (feature phone + smartphone) market grew 74 per cent YoY in Q2 2021 but declined 28 per cent quarter-on-quarter. The feature phone market declined 50 per cent quarter-on-quarter with the second COVID-19 wave reducing the disposable income of its consumers, who mainly reside in Tier 3 and 4 towns, and rural areas. Itel led the feature phone market with a 24 per cent share, followed by Jio, Lava and Samsung.
