Apple's India market share plunges in Q1, Samsung gains in premium segment

The market share of iPhone maker Apple plunged while Samsung dominated the premium smartphone segment in India in the first quarter of 2018, as per two market research reports released on Friday.

"Apple's share in the premium segment dipped as the volumes dipped by a massive 55 per cent due to decline in shipments for its iPhone 8 and X series.

"Additionally, the increase in import duty on CBUs (completely built units) to 20 per cent during the quarter, led to increase in prices of already expensive iPhones," Counterpoint Research said in its report.

The premium segment accounts for 4 per cent of the overall smartphone market in India and three brands -- Samsung, OnePlus and Apple -- contributed to 95 per cent of the overall share in the segment, the report said.

Apple has been in discussions with the government to resolve some issues it has raised pertaining to manufacturing norms before it expands local production. In the meantime, three-times increase in import tariff during last five months is visible on sale of iPhones, it said.

According to CyberMedia Research, Apple was on top in the last quarter of 2017 with the launch of iPhone X and iPhone 8/8Plus, but the shipments of devices from the company to India declined by 74 per cent which was also reflected in market share.

"In the super premium (handsets priced above Rs 50,000 a unit) flagships segment, Apple saw its share decline from 82 to 25 per cent," the report said

"Samsung captured half of the premium segment with 16 per cent YoY growth, driven by strong initial demand of its new flagships S9, S9 Plus and online exclusive Galaxy A8 plus," the report said.

Cashback, exchange, upgrade and bundled data schemes helped sales of Samsung S9 during the quarter.

"OnePlus was the fastest growing brand (with 192 per cent growth) in the segment capturing 25 per cent of the share," the report said.

OnePlus has been holding the second spot in the premium segment since July-September 2017 period.