India’s smartphone shipments declined 9% on a year-over-year (YoY) basis to reach over 152 million units in 2022, a new report said, adding that the premium segment continued to rise to register a double-digit share for the first time.
According to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service, this is the second-ever YoY decline in India’s smartphone market and is attributed to a fall in entry-level and budget segment smartphones. These segments faced supply constraints at the beginning of the year and then witnessed lower demand throughout the year, the report noted.
“Consumer demand started declining from the second quarter when the global economy was crippled by multiple macroeconomic issues like all-time high inflation, rising unemployment and geopolitical conflicts, affecting India’s economy as well,” said Senior Research Analyst Prachir Singh.
Singh highlighted that the inventory build-up across channels after the second quarter led to lower-than-expected shipments throughout the second half of the year. “We believe that the inventory and demand situation will continue to affect the market in the first half of 2023 before improving in the latter half driven by the festive season and upgrades to 5G devices,” Singh said.
iPhone 13 top-selling smartphone in 2022
Even though the entry-level and budget segments of smartphones declined, overall, India’s smartphone market revenue remained flat. iPhone 13 captured the top smartphone model spot in 2022 as Chinese brands saw a decline in value share. They cumulatively captured 60% revenue share in 2022 as compared to 65% in the year before.
“Despite declining shipments, the premium smartphone market’s share kept rising in 2022 and reached 11% – the highest ever. This paradoxical trend implies that India’s smartphone market is moving from being volume-driven to value-driven,” Research Analyst Shilpi Jain added.
“We believe the momentum for the premium segment will continue in 2023 as well owing to OEMs’ focus and faster consumer upgrades,” she noted.
Xiaomi, Samsung and Apple: How brands fared
Xiaomi (including Poco) slipped to third place in Q4 2022 but held the top spot in India’s smartphone market in 2022 with a 24% YoY decline.
Samsung held the second spot in 2022 and emerged as the leading brand in Q4 2022. It was the only smartphone brand among the top five which did not decline and remained flat. Samsung also became the top 5G smartphone brand in 2022 with a 21% market share.
The South Korean company also led the affordable premium segment (Rs 30,000-Rs 45,000) in 2022 driven by the revamping of the A series and attractive promotional offers during the festive season. Lastly, it was also the fastest-growing brand in the ultra-premium segment (Rs 45,000 and above).
Vivo secured second place in Q4 2022 and managed to take third place in 2022 boosted by a strong focus on the offline market. Its subsidiary brand iQoo strengthened its hold in the online market. It also held the second spot in 5G smartphone shipments in 2022 with a 17% share.
Realme slipped to fourth place in 2022, with a 14% YoY decline due to higher exposure to the sub-Rs 10,000 segment. The brand suffered from inventory build-up, unfavourable market conditions in the sub-Rs 10,000 segment, and economic headwinds, the report said.
Oppo maintained its fifth position in India’s smartphone market in 2022 with a 7% YoY decline. Transsion Group brands itel, Infinix and Tecno accounted for 12% of India’s handset market and secured the third spot in 2022.
Apple grew 16% YoY in 2022 and maintained its lead in the overall premium segment (Rs 30,000 and above) as well as the ultra-premium segment (Rs 45,000 and above). Apple also led the Indian smartphone market in terms of shipment value in Q4 2022.
Finally, OnePlus grew 50% YoY in 2022 driven by the OnePlus Nord CE 2 series. It captured the second spot in the affordable premium segment with a 22% share. The Nord CE 2 Lite was the top-selling 5G model in the sub-Rs 20,000 segment in 2022.