Xiaomi leads, Samsung second in India’s smartphone market

NEW DELHI: Smartphone users in India are a confused lot after market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) on Monday crowned Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi with a market share of 29.7 per cent and placed Samsung in the second spot with a share of 23.9 per cent.

Earlier, two global research firms Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research and Singapore-based Canalys in the end of July gave Samsung bigger or almost identical market share with Xiaomi in Q2 2018.

According to IDC’s latest “Quarterly Smartphone Tracker”, approximately one out of three smartphones sold in India was a Xiaomi device in Q2 2018. The quarter also marked the first time a smartphone brand (Xiaomi) shipped nearly 10 million units within three months.

Xiaomi also continued to be the number one smartphone vendor in the online smartphone market with 55.6 per cent market share, for the seventh consecutive quarter, said the report. According to IDC, four out of the top five smartphones in Q2 2018 were Xiaomi smartphones Redmi 5A, Redmi Note 5 Pro, Redmi Note 5 and Redmi 5 accounting for 26 per cent of overall smartphone shipments. The Indian smartphone market saw an overall healthy growth of 20 per cent, with a total of 33.5 million units being shipped.

However, in late July, Hong Kong-based research firm Counterpoint Research said South Korean firm Samsung reclaimed the top spot in the second quarter in India with 29 per cent share against Xiaomi’s 28 per cent.

According to Singapore-based market research firm Canalys, Samsung shipped 9.9 million smartphones in India in the second quarter of 2018, registering almost a 50 per cent annual growth rate its best since the fourth quarter of 2015. Chinese handset maker Xiaomi also shipped 9.9 million smartphones and this is the best quarter either vendor has had in the country, said the report. Samsung “J2 Pro” was the top model in the second quarter, with 2.3 million units shipped in India. (IANS)