Following are the highlights for the Q1 2019 as per the findings on the report:
Xiaomi
Xiaomi has managed to remain the smartphone market leader in Q1 2019 with a 29% share. Although its shipments have declined by 2% YoY, its offline expansion and focus on the product build helped it maintain a top position at the top. The Redmi Note 7 series, announced recently, managed to cross the one million mark within the first quarter of its launch. Xiaomi is at the helm of the Indian smartphone market for the seventh consecutive quarter at a stretch.
Samsung
Samsung’s A-series lineup of smartphones surpassed two million units in shipments. The M-series, which is an online-only lineup, managed to get a good start but needs more follow up to grow in the online market. Samsung’s newest flagship lineup of smartphones, the S10-series, also recorded a strong sell-in for the quarter. Apparently, it also managed to surpass OnePlus to become the number one ‘premium’ player with its S10-series. OnePlus has a chance to hit back with its OnePlus 7 lineup scheduled to launch this quarter.
Realme
Realme, the erstwhile sub-brand from Oppo has managed to keep up with the momentum and has managed to up its market share to 7% in Q1 2019 according to Counterpoint Research. The brand is still in its first year of existence but has managed to ruffle some feathers and is instrumental in the diminishing market share of Xiaomi and Samsung.
Vivo
Vivo has been around for a long time in the Indian market but has been a silent spectator over the past few months with Xiaomi marching ahead every quarter. But the Chinese player has managed to hit back and is, in fact, the fastest growing smartphone OEM year-on-year in Q1 2019. It has posted its best ever performance in India this quarter and has more than doubled its market share in the same period.
Huawei
Huawei’s sister brand, Honor, managed to provide the company with its highest-ever ASP with the recently launched Honor 10 Lite and Honor View 20. But that’s not enough for the Chinese company to find a place in the Top 5 smartphone OEMs list.
Other Brands
Apart from the major players like Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo, etc a few other brands that did manage to do well in the Q1 of 2019 include Asus, Tecno, and Nokia HMD. The thing that stood out and took Asus towards a better quarter was its increased focus on battery life and design in Rs 8,000 – Rs 15,000 price segment. On the other hand, Tecno targeting offline entry-level smartphone segment did the trick, whereas Nokia HMD targeting quality conscious users with the promise to deliver the latest Android version and great user experience helped it achieve a better quarter.
Indian Brands
As per the report, Indian brands reached their lowest ever market share due to the ongoing competition. Indian brands that once had a stronghold of the entry-level segment, saw a decline due to lack of refresh cycles and strong competition from other brands. Interestingly, Chinese brands also dominated the top five best selling smartphone list and managed to contribute 35% of overall smartphone shipments, with Xiaomi Redmi 6A coming at the top, followed by Xiaomi Note 6 Pro, Redmi Y2, Samsung Galaxy M20, and Galaxy A50.
Apart from the smartphone market, the feature phone market also saw some interesting figures in Q1 2019. According to the report, Jio topped the list with a 30% market share compared to 36% in Q1 2018, on the other hand, Samsung saw a rise, with a 15% market share compared to 10% from the last year. Similarly, Lava and Nokia also managed to get a rise in their market share for this years Q1 compared to the last year. Taking into consideration the overall growth of different smartphone manufacturers for the quarter, the market share of Chinese brands in the Indian smartphone market reached 66%, with a 20% YoY contributed due to the growth of Vivo, Realme, and OPPO. The YoY volume growth for Vivo grew 119% with an expansion in the mid-tier smartphone segment and its IPL campaign around the flagship V series. On the other hand, Oppo managed a 28% YoY growth with expansion in the smartphone range in a comparatively higher price bracket.
