According to a report by Cyber Media Research (CMR) titled ‘India Mobile Handset Market Review Report’, the smartphone shipments declined 12 per cent during third quarter (Q3) 2022 on year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis. However, on a quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) basis, the smartphone shipments recorded a 16 per cent growth. However, 5G shipments grew 30 per cent Y-o-Y.

According to Menka Kumari, analyst, Industry Intelligence Group, CMR, “On the back of the recent 5G auctions, shipments of 5G smartphones continued to gain momentum during the quarter. Driven by the festive season sales, consumer appetite for 5G, value for money and premium smartphones saw a strong growth. Interestingly, the uber-premium 5G smartphone (ranging over Rs 100,000) segment grew 170 per cent Y-o-Y.”

The overall mobile market witnessed 16 per cent Y-o-Y decline in Q3 2022.

Smartphone Segment

There was a 57 per cent Y-o-Y decline in the affordable smartphone segment (Sub Rs 7,000). Consumer demand was strong in the value-for-money smartphone segment (Rs 7000 – Rs 25,000), with 79 per cent of smartphones shipped in this price segment in Q3 2022. The premium smartphone segment (Rs 25,000 – Rs 50,000) and the super- premium smartphone segment (Rs 50,000 – Rs 100,000) saw shipments increasing by 9 per cent and 39 per cent Y-o-Y respectively.

Xiaomi (22 per cent), Samsung (20 per cent) and Realme (14 per cent) captured the top three spots in the Smartphone leaderboard in Q3 2022 followed by Vivo (12 per cent) and Oppo (10 per cent).

5G smartphone shipments grew 30 per cent Y-o-Y and 21 per cent Q-o-Q in Q3 2022. During the quarter, 33 5G-capable smartphones were introduced in the market. Samsung led the 5G Smartphone segment with 23 per cent market share, followed by OnePlus with 15 per cent market share.

Feature Phone Segment

The overall feature phone segment continued to decline, reflecting the prevailing macro-economic environment, and weak consumer sentiment. Both 2G and 4G feature phone segment declined by 21 per cent and 58 per cent Y-o-Y respectively.

Q3 2022: Key Smartphone Market Highlights

Xiaomi captured the top spot with 22 per cent market share. Redmi 9A Sport, Redmi 10(2022) and Redmi 10A were the most popular models. Xiaomi’s shipments declined 12 per cent YoY. Its sub-brand Poco also witnessed a 38 per cent Y-o-Y decline in its shipments in Q3 2022.

Samsung was placed second with 20 per cent market share in the Smartphone market. Samsung’s focus on the value- for-money 5G smartphone segment (Rs 7,000 – Rs 24,999) enabled its market growth. Samsung’s 5G smartphone shipments recorded significant 88 per cent Y-o-Y growth.

Realme was placed third with 14 per cent market share and its shipments declined by 17 per cent Y-o-Y. realme C35, realme C30, realme C33 and realme Narzo 50i and were the most shipped models and accounted for most of Realme’s market share.

Vivo garnered 14 per cent market share along with its sub-brand iQOO. The vivo T1, vivo T1 Pro and vivo Y75 5G models accounted for the bulk of its 5G shipments.

Oppo was placed fifth with 10 per cent market share. The Oppo A16e, Oppo A16k and Oppo A55 series were the highest shipped models. Oppo captured 5 per cent share in the overall 5G shipments.

OnePlus shipments witnessed 30 per cent Y-o-Y growth. The OnePlus Nord series accounted for 79 per cent of OnePlus shipments.

Apple captured 4 per cent market share with 8 per cent Y-o-Y increase in its shipments. The iPhone 12, iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 series contributed to a majority of the iPhone shipments during the quarter. 76 per cent of iPhone shipments were in the super-premium (Rs 50,000 – 100,000) smartphone segment.

Transsion Group brands (Itel, Infinix and Tecno) overall (smartphone + feature-phone) shipments declined 24 per cent Y-o-Y. Its smartphone shipments declined 33 per cent Y-o-Y.

Future Market Outlook

On the back of the festive season momentum, CMR anticipates strong smartphone shipments in early Q4 2022. However, the shadow of the macro-economic conditions will persist. For the entire year, CMR estimates the smartphone shipments to hover around the 160-165 million mark.

As per Shipra Sinha, analyst, Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR, “Driven by the upcoming major festivals, the sales and offers will continue and we anticipate an uptick in smartphone shipments in the first half of Q4 2022. However, the macro-economic conditions will continue to cast a shadow in the post-Deepavali period. Going forward, we anticipate further momentum for 5G smartphone shipments driven by robust consumer demand. The premium smartphone segment will continue to buck the trend and will witness strong shipments. Consumers will seek to switch and upgrade to newer phones.”