Premium smartphone shipment in India up 19% in June quarter: Counterpoint

The premium smartphone segment grew by 19 per cent in the June quarter of 2018 compared to the year-ago period, according to Counterpoint Research.

The segment (priced Rs 30,000 and above) saw a 10 per cent growth compared to the March 2018 quarter "as more consumers upgraded to 2018 flagship launches by different Android OEMs in India", Counterpoint said in its report.

OnePlus led the premium smartphone segment with 40 per cent market share, helped by record shipments of its OnePlus 6 handset as compared to its previous smartphones.

While the report did not disclose the number of devices shipped, market experts estimate that quarterly smartphone shipments range between 1-1.5 million units.

"India remains an important market for OnePlus, contributing to almost a third of its global revenue. Furthermore, with every flagship OnePlus userbase has been growing in India and this has now started translating into record sales for every new flagship it launches," the report noted.

Korean tech major Samsung captured 34 per cent share of the premium smartphone segment in India in the June quarter, while Apple's share was at 14 per cent - the lowest for the US brand.

"Apple had a weak second quarter as demand for its iPhone 8 and iPhone X begin to taper off due to seasonality and challenges in terms of pricing post duty increase. The Cupertino giant is also streamlining its channel structure as it gears up for all important 2H 2018 in India," Counterpoint said.

These three brands contributed to 88 per cent of the premium handset market as compared to 95 per cent a quarter ago.

This shrinkage, according to Counterpoint, was due to the entry of new players in the segment led by Huawei (P20), Vivo (X21), Nokia HMD (Nokia 8 Sirocco) and LG (V30 Plus).