India’s smartphone market shipped 34 million smartphones in the first quarter of financial year 2024, with 11.5 per cent growth year-on-year, making it the third consecutive quarter of growth in shipments, said the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.
However, the firm expects the overall growth for smartphones to be in mid-single digits for 2024. “The first few months of the year have provided momentum for the smartphone market in India. However, the second half of the year will be crucial. IDC estimates a modest overall annual growth in the mid-single digits for 2024,” says Navkendar Singh, associate vice president, Devices Research, IDC.
Singh also added that the reasons for the growth to be tepid are the challenges around attracting first-time smartphone users and mitigating the impact of the second-hand market continue to restrict market growth. “Notably, the market’s concentration among the top brands is weakening, with the long tail of smaller brands and sub-brands gaining volume. The share of the top five brands has dropped to 65 per cent from 69 per cent a year ago,” Singh added.
In the overall market share, the top three brands were Vivo, Xiaomi, and Samsung, making up 53 per cent share in this segment. Vivo has dethroned Samsung to top the chart with a market share of 16.2 per cent. Samsung, which was second, saw its market share fall to 15.6 per cent for the first quarter of calendar year 2024. This is down from the high of 20.1 per cent in the first quarter of calendar year 2023.
For the quarter, growth was driven by the super-premium segment ($800 and above), which grew the highest with 44 per cent growth, with its share up from 7 per cent to 9 per cent. The iPhone 14/15/14 Plus, 15 Plus together accounted for 64 per cent of shipments, followed by the Galaxy S24/S24 Ultra/S23/S24+ with 25 per cent share. Overall, Apple led the segment with a share of 69 per cent, followed by Samsung at 31 per cent.
After the super-premium, the share of the entry-premium ($200 to $400) segment reached 23 per cent, up from 20 per cent growing by 25 per cent year-on-year. OPPO and Realme gained a significant share, making up almost 30 per cent of this segment.
Shipments to the mass budget ($100 to $200) segment grew by 22 per cent year-on-year, reaching 48 per cent from 44 per cent a year ago.
“Several new launches across multiple price segments happened during the quarter, coupled with increased promotional activities, particularly around premium offerings. Brands continued their focus on microfinancing schemes to drive affordability. eTailers organised several sales events and offered discounts on models nearing their end-of-life (EOL), resulting in increased demand and lean inventory,” said Upasana Joshi, senior research manager, Client Devices, IDC India.
For the first quarter, smartphone average selling prices (ASPs) remained flat year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter at $263, ending the streak of strong ASP rise for the last several quarters.
The entry level (sub-$100) segment declined by 14 per cent year-on-year to 15 per cent share, down from 20 per cent a year ago. Xiaomi continued to lead this space, followed by Poco and itel.
The mid-premium segment ($400 to $600) declined by 46 per cent in unit terms to a 3 per cent share, down from 6 per cent a year ago. OnePlus led with a 38 per cent share, followed by Vivo and OPPO.
The premium segment ($600 to $800) held a 2 per cent share and declined by 21 per cent in unit terms. Key models were the iPhone 13, Galaxy S23FE/S23, iPhone 12, and OnePlus 12. Apple’s share declined year-on-year to 45 per cent, while Samsung was a close second with a 44 per cent share, up from 16 per cent a year ago.
About 23 million 5G smartphones were shipped in the quarter. The share of 5G smartphone shipments increased to 69 per cent, up from 46 per cent in the first quarter of calendar year 2023, while 5G smartphone ASPs dropped to $337, a decline of 21 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of financial year 2024. Within 5G, shipments of the mass budget ($100 to US$200) segment grew three times to reach 46 per cent share. Xiaomi’s Redmi 13C, Vivo’s T2x, Samsung’s Galaxy A15, Vivo’s Y28, and Apple’s iPhone 14 were the highest shipped 5G models in the first quarter of financial year 2024.
Apple, with an ASP of $953, had a record first-quarter shipment, growing by 19 per cent year-on-year. Price discounts, special deals on eTailer platforms, and attractive financing options led to this consistent growth for Apple beyond the festive season. iPhone 14/15 made up 56 per cent of shipments for Apple.
Top six Indian smartphone makers
Brand and rank |
Q1 24 |
Q1 23 |
YoY unit change |
1. Vivo |
16.2 % |
15.4 % |
17.2 % |
2. Samsung |
15.6 % |
20.1 % |
-13.3 % |
3. Xiaomi |
12.8 % |
12.6 % |
13.3 % |
4. Oppo |
10.2 % |
11.6 % |
-1.8 % |
5. realme |
9.8 % |
9.3 % |
17.3 % |
6. Apple |
7.3 % |
6.8 % |
19 % |
Source: IDC Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, May 2024
