Apple tops Indian smartphone market with 23% value share: Counterpoint

iPhone maker Apple led the India smartphone market in supply value terms with 23 per cent share while Chinese smartphone brand Vivo led the market in volumes in 2024, a report by Counterpoint Research said on Thursday.

Apple volume share during the December quarter increased to 11 per cent on a year-on-year basis to occupy the fifth spot from 9 per cent a year ago.

The iPhone maker, however, did not figure among the top five smartphone brands in annual data sets as per the Counterpoint Research estimates.

The report estimated that smartphone shipments grew 1 per cent year-on-year in 2024, reaching 153 million units.

Counterpoint Research Senior Research Analyst Shilpi Jain said India's smartphone market is showing signs of maturity, with stable volumes affected by low entry of new users into the ecosystem.

"Replacement cycles are increasing as entry- and mid-range devices continue to improve each year. At the same time, there is a shift toward higher-priced devices, with shipments of premium segment devices (priced above Rs 30,000) growing by double-digit percentages, driving a 9 per cent YoY growth in wholesale value -- the highest ever recorded," Jain said.

According to Counterpoint's Monthly India Smartphone Tracker, Vivo led the country's smartphone market in volumes in the December quarter as well with its share increasing to 20 per cent from 17 per cent in December 2023 quarter.

During the reported quarter, Xiaomi followed Vivo with 16 per cent volume share, Samsung with 15 per cent and Oppo with 14 per cent.

Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research Shubham Singh said Vivo emerged as the market leader for the first time with year-on-year growth of 16 per cent, supported by a robust offline network and its sub-brand iQOO.

"Samsung slipped to third, as its value-driven strategies led to a reduced position in lower price bands, impacting overall shipments. However, Samsung's premium devices continued to perform well, particularly its S series, which helped the brand gain share in the premium segment," Singh said.

In the annual value share chart for 2024, Samsung followed Apple with 22 per cent share. The Korean smartphone maker was followed by Vivo with 16 per cent share, Oppo 16 per cent, and Xiaomi 9 per cent.

Vivo led the India smartphone market in terms of smartphone units supplied. The Chinese smartphone maker's volume market share increased to 19 per cent in 2024 from 17 per cent in 2023.

It was followed by Xiaomi with 17 per cent share, Samsung (16 per cent), Oppo (15 per cent) and realme 11 per cent share.

In the mobile chipset category, MediaTek led India's smartphone chipset market with its highest-ever 52 per cent share, followed by Qualcomm at 25 per cent.

5G smartphone shipment penetration in the country reached 78 per cent in 2024, due to the availability of 5G chipsets in entry-level smartphones, the report said.