Xiaomi, Samsung tie at top spot in India's smartphone mkt: IDC

Chinese handset maker Xiaomi caught up with industry leader Samsung to share the top spot in India's smartphone market for the September quarter with each player accounting for 23.5 per cent share, research firm IDC said today.
Smartphone shipments in India reached a record high of 39 million units in the July-September quarter -- which also sees high sales on account of festive season.
Shipments grew 40 per cent from the previous quarter and 21 per cent over the year-ago period, IDC said, adding that India accounted for about 10 per cent of the global smartphone shipments this quarter.
Other players in the tally included Lenovo-Motorola (9 per cent), vivo (8.5 per cent) and Oppo (7.9 per cent).

"In the coming few quarters, both Samsung and Xiaomi would need to further strengthen their channel play and significantly differentiate their products on technology and quality to sustain and fight for leadership in this hyper competitive smartphone market," IDC India Senior Analyst Upasana Joshi said.
In a statement, Xiaomi said it had shipped 9.2 million smartphones during the quarter and has seen a growth rate of nearly 300 per cent year-on-year.

"Within three years of our entry into the Indian market, we have been able to achieve a never-seen-before feat of market dominance," Xiaomi India MD Manu Jain said.
Samsung, which registered 23 per cent y-o-y growth, saw models like Galaxy J2, Galaxy J7 Nxt, and GalaxyJ7 Max contributing to almost 60 per cent of its volume, as per IDC data.

OnePlus -- whose competition includes high-end devices like Apple iPhones, Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8 -- said it almost doubled its market share in the premium category with 28 per cent share, up from 12 per cent in March 2017 quarter.
"Driven by the exceptional performance of our recent smartphones, OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 3T in particular, we are humbled by the market validation as the brand became the preferred choice for the digital savvy consumers looking for a premium smartphone experience," OnePlus General Manager Vikas Agarwal said.
IDC said 13 million smartphones were billed to e-tailers with 35 per cent annual growth.

"Online channel in India sees a seasonal spike peaking in Q3 on the back of multiple round of online sales following up to festival months in India," IDC India Senior Analyst Jaipal Singh said.
However, it is gradually becoming an integral part of the omni-channel strategy for almost all vendors with online exclusive model launches and partnerships with e-tailers during these sales, he added.