India smartphone market declines 11% to reach 45 mn units in Q3

New Delhi: India's smartphone shipments declined 11 per cent (on-year) to reach over 45 million units in the third quarter this year, led by Xiaomi with a 21 per cent market share and closely followed by Samsung at 19 per cent share, a report showed on Thursday.

According to the latest research from Counterpoint's 'Market Monitor service,' the decline, which is the first ever for a Q3, can be attributed to the high base last year due to the pent-up demand during Q3 2021, as well as lower consumer demand in the entry-tier and budget segments in Q3 2022.

One in three smartphones shipped during the quarter was a 5G smartphone. Samsung led the 5G smartphone segment with a 20 per cent share, followed by OnePlus and vivo.

"The unfavourable macroeconomic conditions will continue to affect the Indian smartphone market in Q4 2022 as well, especially after Diwali. However, we may witness a demand uptick during the year-end sales," said senior research analyst Prachir Singh.

vivo captured the third position even as its shipments declined 15 per cent YoY. realme remained at the fourth spot in Q3 2022, capturing a 14 per cent share.

OPPO maintained its fifth position in India's smartphone market. OPPO is consistently increasing its shipments in the high-tier segments.

"After the 5G network rollout, consumers are quite keen on purchasing 5G smartphones, especially the upgrading users. In Q3 2022, 5G smartphones registered 31 per cent YoY growth and contributed to 32 per cent of the total shipments," said research analyst Shilpi Jain.

"The sub-Rs 10,000 price band continues to be under pressure due to lower consumer demand and contributed to 27 per cent of the total shipments, down from 31 per cent a year ago," she added.