4G devices drive smartphone growth in Q3: IDC

According to International Data Corporation's (IDC) Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker Report, 28.3 million smartphones were shipped to India in the third quarter of 2015 - up 21.4 per cent from 23.3 million units for the same period last year. In the third quarter, the 4G enabled devices witnessed almost a three-fold increase in unit shipments over the second quarter of 2015.

Samsung emerged as the leading 4G player in India with its popular sub $150 long-term evolution models such as Galaxy Grand Prime and Galaxy J2 witnessing strong sales Growth was also driven by phones with larger screens available at a relatively low price. Almost one out of every two smartphones sold had 5 inch plus displays.

This highlights the shift in consumer preference from a device mostly used for voice calling to an advanced multimedia experience. Karthik J, senior market analyst, client devices, IDC, says, "The growth in the smartphone market was helped by rising demand for affordable 4G smartphones. e-tailers such as Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon continue to drive shipments of the Chinese vendors, who have been aggressively trying to capture the 4G smartphone market in India."