Indian smartphone shipments saw a decline of 19 per cent year on year (YoY) in the January-March period reaching over 31 million units, based on a study conducted by Counterpoint. This was the highest ever decline witnessed during the first quarter ended March 2023. The decline can be contributed to low demands, increasing preference for refurbished phones among customers, high inventory build-up from 2022 and a gloomy channel view of the market, the study said.
Further, this was the third consecutive quarterly decline for the industry. 5G smartphones contributed to 43 per cent of the shipments, registering 23 per cent year on year growth with customers upgrading to 5G devices. On the other hand the premium segment’s share almost doubled in Q1 2023 in comparison to Q1 2022. This growth is reducing mid-tier share as consumers are upgrading to higher-priced smartphones. The Rs 10,000 price band category declined in Q1 2023 with the shipments falling to nine per cent YoY.
Samsung stayed at top in the Indian smartphone market with a share of 20 per cent in Q1 2023. Vivo had a three per cent YoY decline and came in second position with 17 per cent while Xiaomi faced a significant drop of 44 per cent in YoY, as it came in third with 16 per cent share in Q1 2023. Oppo took the fourth position with a 12 per cent market share and nine per cent YOY growth. Realme slipped to fifth place with a nine per cent market share and 52 per cent YoY growth. One Plus was the fastest growing brand with 72 per cent oY growth in Q1 2023. Finally, Apple had a 50 per cent YoY growth capturing six per cent market share in Q1 2023.
