India smartphone up 15% on year in Q1, continues recovery: Canalys

The Indian smartphone market showed signs of recovery, reaching 35.3 million units in the quarter ended March 2024, marking a 15% year-on-year growth, as per a report released on Thursday. Canalys, a prominent market research firm, attributed the sharper growth rate to a lower base in Q1 2023, characterized by inventory pileup, inflationary pressure, and weak demand.

The report highlighted Samsung as the leading smartphone brand, shipping 6.7 million units and capturing a 19% market share, followed by Xiaomi and Vivo with an 18% share each. Oppo and Realme completed the top five with 13% and 9% market share, respectively. While Samsung continued its momentum with 6% overall shipment growth, Xiaomi experienced a resurgence driven by budget Redmi phones and Poco's early launch of its popular X6 series. Canalys senior analyst, Mr. Sanyam Chaurasia noted the growth of brands like Motorola, Infinix, and Apple, with Apple's success attributed to price cuts and promotional deals on its iPhone 15 model. The market also saw brands introducing new models at higher prices to target the premium segment. However, the research firm cautioned about potential price hikes due to operational pressures, rising component costs, and government localization policies, emphasizing the need for vendors to focus on restructuring distribution and leveraging local manufacturing.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.