India’s smartphone market started the April-June quarter on a low note amid the second wave but quickly recovered towards the end, witnessing 86 per cent year-over-year (YoY) growth to reach 34 million units, a new IDC report showed on Tuesday.
Accelerated growth of the online channel resulted in a record share of 51 per cent with a massive 113 per cent YoY growth.
On the flip side, the offline channel was impacted by weekend curfews in many areas and partially opened markets (with odd/even schemes) through May and mid-June, according to the IDC’s ‘Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.’
“While 2021 is expected to see single-digit growth, 2H21 is likely to drop in comparison to the same period last year, with lower demand, uncertainties around the third wave, persistent supply constraints, and rising component prices along with intensifying inflationary rates,” said Navkendar Singh, Research Director, Client Devices & IPDS, IDC India.
“Nevertheless, a rebound in 2022 will be possible with upgraders in the low-mid price segments, supply-led push of 5G devices, feature phone migration with new offerings expected in upcoming months (as announced by Reliance Jio), and better supplies to market,” Singh added.
MediaTek-based smartphones continued to lead with a share of 64 per cent in sub-$200 segment, while Qualcomm dominated the space in the US$200-500 segment with a 71 per cent share.
“Though there were aggressively priced 5G model launches in 2Q21, most shipments were 4G. Nevertheless, it is still months away from 5G to become mainstream, underlining the importance of spectrum availability, clear use cases, and ensuring a cohesive future-ready infrastructure led by telcos,” said Upasana Joshi, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India.
Xiaomi led with an impressive 84 per cent YoY growth. Xiaomi commanded a 40 per cent online market share with almost 70 per cent of its shipments in online channels.
Samsung was second, registering the lowest YoY growth amongst the top 10 vendors at 15 per cent in Q2.
Vivo came at the third position, with 57 per cent YoY growth. realme surpassed OPPO for the fourth slot with shipment growth of 175 per cent YoY, the report said.
