Smartphones See Growth During Covid

India's smartphone shipments grew 9% YoY to reach over 53 million units in Q3 2020, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service. This is the highest-ever shipment in a quarter for the Indian smartphone market. The push from the brands coupled with the pent-up demand due to the lockdown and strong sales on online platforms led to this growth. Consumers still prefer online platforms due to COVID-19 fears.

This time, Samsung became the leading brand in the India smartphone market after two years with 32% YoY growth. It was also the fastest to recover, surpassing the pre-COVID levels in Q3 2020. On the other hand, Xiaomi slipped to number two position for the first time since Q3 2018 with 4% YoY decline.

Similarly, vivo grew 4% YoY and retained its third position in Q3, driven by strong demand for its Y-series models in offline channels. realme also grew 4% YoY in Q3 2020 as it was able to manage supply issues with increased production. Its shipments grew 52% YoY in the mid-tier segment; driven by the realme 6 and 7 series. It also retained its leadership position on Flipkart.

OPPO shipments grew 30% YoY in Q3 2020, driven by the demand for its budget segment devices, the A12 and A11k, as well as a good performance of the recently launched A52, A53 2020 and F15 in the offline segment.

Moreover, Poco crossed 1 million smartphone units for the first time, driven by its new launches – M2, M2 Pro and X3.  Transsion Group brands (Itel, Infinix and Tecno) regained their market share in Q3 2020, registering 73% YoY growth. Transsion brands remained strong in Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities, and rural India, capturing fourth position in the overall handset market.

Coming to premium segment, Apple led the this segment surpassing OnePlus even before its flagship launch, driven by strong demand for its iPhone SE 2020 and the iPhone 11. It is estimated that upcoming flagship iPhone 12 will further strengthen its position in the coming quarter.

The flagship killer, OnePlus also remained the top brand in the affordable premium segment, driven by OnePlus 8 sales. It re-entered the upper mid-tier with its Nord series and the OnePlus Nord became the best-selling model within the segment in the initial quarter of launch.

Elated by the overwhelming response, Madhav Sheth, CEO, realme India, said, “We are overwhelmed to see the adoption of realme products at such a fast pace. realme offers the most blockbuster products which are high on features, style, and performance and is available across price segments.”