India’s 5G smartphone shipment grow to 57% in Q3: Report

India’s 5G smartphone shipment share grew to 57 per cent in the third quarter (Q3) of this year, marking a 78 per cent (year-on-year) growth, a new report has said. According to the CyberMedia Research (CMR), Samsung led the 5G smartphone market in the country with a 23 per cent market share, followed by Vivo at 16 per cent. Worth $11 billion 5G smartphones have been shipped in Q3 2023.

“The 5G smartphone segment continued to headline the market growth, with 44 new launches, and a 57 per cent market share. Foldable smartphones experienced remarkable growth, doubling year-on-year. Furthermore, 4G feature phones showed tremendous growth, driven by aspirational India and the demand for companion devices in Urban India,” said Shipra Sinha, Analyst- Industry Intelligence Group, CMR.

While India’s smartphone market remained flat year-on-year, the overall mobile market saw a slight one per cent decline, the report said.

The value-for-money smartphone segment (Rs 7,000-25,000) constituted the largest share at 69 per cent. Despite this, its shipments decreased by 11 per cent (year-on-year).

The affordable smartphone segment ( less than Rs 7,000) experienced substantial growth, surging by 78 per cent (year-on-year).

The premium segment (Rs 25,000-50,000) witnessed an 11 per cent (year-on-year) growth. Additionally, the super-premium smartphone segment (Rs 50,000- 1,00,000) and the uber premium segment ( greater than Rs 1,00,000) experienced outstanding year-on-year growth rates of 87 per cent and 136 per cent, respectively, according to the report.

Apple captured a six per cent market share in the smartphone market in Q3 2023. Attractive deals on its previous generation phones resulted in a 44 per cent (year-on-year) growth in its shipments.

The 4G feature phone shipments experienced more than 300 per cent (year-on-year) growth during the quarter. This growth was driven significantly by JioBharat K1 Karbonn and JioBharat V2, collectively capturing 63 per cent market share.

The overall feature phone market saw a decline of six per cent (year-on-year). Notably, 2G feature phone shipments decreased by 27 per cent (year-on-year), the report showed.

Key Smartphone Market Highlights in Q3 2023

• Samsung dominated the smartphone market with a 17 per cent share, leading both the Premium (INR 25,000-50,000) and Uber-Premium (>INR 1,00,000) segments with 28 per cent and 68 per cent shares respectively.
• Xiaomi secured the second spot in the smartphone market with a 17 per cent share, featuring top models like Redmi
• 12, Redmi A2, and Redmi 12C. Additionally, Xiaomi’s sub-brand, Poco, experienced an impressive 74 per cent YoY growth in shipments.
• Vivo was placed third with a 15 per cent market share. Vivo secured the second spot in 5G smartphone shipments, holding a 16 per cent share, driven by models like vivo T2x, vivo T1, and vivo T1 Pro.
• Realme held the fourth position with a 14 per cent market share, experiencing a modest 1 per cent YoY growth in shipments. The top models shipped by Realme were Realme C53, Realme 11x 5G, and Realme C55.
• OPPO was placed fifth with a market share of 10 per cent. Its top three shipped models were the OPPO F23, OPPO A16k and OPPO A16e.
• OnePlus recorded a notable 13 per cent YoY growth in its smartphone shipments. OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite, OnePlus Nord
• CE 2 Lite and OnePlus 11 were the top 3 models shipped.
• Apple captured 6 per cent market share in the smartphone market in Q3 2023. Attractive deals on its previousgeneration phones resulted in a 44 per cent YoY growth in Apple’s shipments.
• Transsion Group brands, including itel, Infinix, and Tecno, saw a 12 per cent YoY increase in shipments (combined for smartphones and feature phones). Tecno and Infinix recorded individual YoY growth rates of 15 per cent and 6 per cent respectively in market shipments.