Late last month, Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research and Singapore-based Canalys reported that Korean smartphone manufacturer Samsung had once again retained its top spot as the biggest smartphone manufacturer in India, with a 1 percent higher market share than its biggest rival Xiaomi in Q2 2018.
However, according to market research firm International Data Corporation’s (IDC) latest Quarterly Smartphone Tracker, Xiaomi is still the market leader with a share of 29.7 percent leaving behind Samsung with a share of 23.9 percent.
The IDC report, according to an IANS report, further reveals that approximately one out of three smartphones sold in India in Q2 2018 was manufactured by Xiaomi. The quarter was also rather remarkable for the Chinese manufacturer as it was able to ship nearly 10 million units within the time period, making it the first smartphone brand to ever do so. The company also maintained its lead in the online smartphone market for the seventh consecutive quarter, capturing 55.6 percent market share.
Xiaomi India’s Managing Director, Manu Kumar Jain, was quoted saying:
“Our mission to deliver amazing products at honest pricing has changed people’s lives and started a new chapter in the mobile Internet era in India and I believe we will become an even bigger part of people’s lives”.
Furthermore, the IDC Quarterly Smartphone Tracker also revealed that four of the top five smartphones in Q2 2018 were from Xiaomi, including the Redmi 5A, Redmi Note 5 Pro, Redmi Note 5, and Redmi 5. These four smartphones combined accounted for 26 percent of total smartphone shipments in Q2 2018.
IDC’s latest report, however, contradicts previous reports from Canalys and Counterpoint Research, which claimed Samsung had reclaimed the top spot in the second quarter with 29 percent market share, against Xiaomi’s 28 percent. The reports also highlighted that Samsung managed to ship 9.9 million smartphones in India during the time period, marking a 50 percent annual growth rate.
The IDC tracker also states that Chinese manufacturer Huawei, which is currently the second largest smartphone manufacturer globally, also recorded strong shipments of its Honor branded phones, climbing up to the second spot in the online segment, with an all-time high market share of 8 percent. Upasna Joshi, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices at IDC India was quoted saying,” The market, however, is seeing rapid consolidation at the top end, as the top 5 vendors made up 79 percent of the smartphone market in 2Q18, marginalizing smaller brands”.
With inputs from IANS
