Current State of Affairs
The Counterpoint research further stated that shipments grew 11% to 169 million units in 2021, even after volumes fell 8% from a year earlier in the December quarter due to supply issues bothering the manufacturers. The industry witnessed high consumer demand in 2021 and was the best performing year!
Rulers of the Market
The market was ruled by Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi which had a 24% market share in shipments, followed by the South Korean giant Samsung, which had an 18% market share. Other players such as Vivo, Realme, and Oppo had market shares of 15%, 14%, and 10%, respectively.
Apple’s iPhone grew the fastest with a 108% rise in shipments last year, whereas the premium brand OnePlus crossed its highest ever shipments of 5 million, clocking in a 59% growth in 2021.
Should This Concern You?
As indicated by the market shares of various companies in the smartphone marketplace, one can notice the lack of presence of an Indian player to make its mark among these established brands. Micromax, which became quite popular a decade back, had to face severe competition from these brands and had to exit the market. It now has plans to re-enter this space! But currently, there is no listed Indian smartphone company that investors can tap on!
What Lies Ahead?
The average selling price in India’s smartphone retail market grew by 14% in 2021 to an all-time high of $227 (or Rs 17,000). 5G smartphone shipments increased 6.5x in 2021, led by Vivo with a 19% share. Moreover, India still has one of the cheapest data tariffs in the world. All these stats point towards the bright prospects of the industry!
The slow progress of Jio’s affordable 5G smartphone might lead to a slower coverage of smartphone penetration across the country, especially in rural India. Otherwise, everything’s ripe for the industry!
