Samsung leads smartphone market in India with 18% share in 2023: Report

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

Korean mobile devices maker Samsung led the Indian smartphone market with an 18 per cent share in 2023, market research firm CyberMedia Research said in a report on Monday.

In the December quarter, however, Chinese company Xiaomi had the highest market share, the report said.

According to CyberMedia Research (CMR) estimates, the India smartphone market grew 19 per cent on a year-over-year (y-o-y) basis and the share of 5G smartphone shipments increased to 65 per cent with a 122 per cent growth.

"Samsung maintained its leadership in the smartphone market with an 18 per cent market share, followed by Vivo at 16 per cent in calendar year 2023. In the 5G smartphone segment also, Samsung topped the leaderboard with 23 per cent followed by Vivo at 15 per cent and OnePlus at 13 per cent," CMR's India Mobile Handset Market Review Report said.

In the December quarter, the overall mobile market shipments recorded a growth of 29 per cent.

"Xiaomi (19 per cent), Samsung (18.9 per cent), and Vivo (16 per cent) captured the top three spots in the smartphone leaderboard in the fourth quarter of 2023, followed by Realme (12 per cent) and OPPO (8 per cent)," the report said.

Shipments of premium smartphones -- priced over Rs 25,000 per unit -- recorded a 71 per cent growth y-o-y.

"Apple captured a 6 per cent market share in the smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2023 (calendar year). The Apple iPhone 15 series constituted more than 50 per cent of its total shipments," the report said.

CMR Industry Intelligence Group analyst Shipra Sinha said 58 per cent of 5G smartphones were shipped under the value-for-money segment in the price range of Rs 7,000-Rs 25,000 apiece, up from 47 per cent in December quarter in 2022.

"The over Rs 50,000 priced super premium smartphone segment experienced a remarkable 65 per cent y-o-y growth. There was a noteworthy growth in the 4G feature phone market, primarily catalysed by Jio," Sinha said.

The feature phone market recorded a 52 per cent y-o-y growth, primarily driven by 4G feature phone models, while shipments of older 2G phones declined 12 per cent.

"Jio dominated the feature phone market with a 38 per cent share, followed by Itel Mobile (23 per cent) and Lava (15 per cent)," the report said.

POCO, Xiaomi's sub-brand, shipments grew 148 per cent in smartphone shipments. Vivo's 5G smartphone shipments recorded a 300 per cent jump on a y-o-y basis.

CMR estimates India's smartphone market to grow 7-8 per cent in 2024, driven by a strong demand for 5G smartphones.

"5G smartphone shipments are expected to surge by over 40 per cent. 4G feature phones are anticipated to grow by over 10 per cent in 2024," the report said.