As per Canalys, the Indian smartphone market grew 12 p.c year-on-year by way of shipments, with 24.4 million items shipped. Whereas the highest 5 distributors (Samsung, Micromax, Intex, Lenovo, and Lava) remained the identical as Q1 2015, Lenovo skilled the biggest progress – its shipments rose 63 p.c year-on-year.
The report attributed Lenovo’s huge progress to its “value-for-money handsets and offline channel technique.” The report added that Microsoft, BlackBerry, Sony, and LG have been the largest losers in market by way of shipments, unable to compete in a market that’s trending in direction of low-cost handsets. Micromax alternatively skilled a slight drop in market share from the yr in the past quarter to 16.7 p.c.
As for Apple, the corporate was on the quantity 8 place by way of shipments in Q1 2016, however skilled the second largest progress behind Lenovo amongst the highest 10 smartphone distributors. It noticed smartphone shipments enhance by 56 p.c when in comparison with Q1 2015.
In accordance with Canalys, within the premium phase or for gadgets priced above $300 (Rs. 20,000), Samsung noticed its market share deplete from 66 p.c in Q1 2015 to 41 p.c in Q1 2016, whereas Apple noticed its market share develop from 11 p.c to 29 p.c in the identical interval. The iPhone 5s, due to its many value cuts over the yr, grew to become the preferred Apple gadget within the Indian market.
Canalys added that it expects to see extra distributors getting financing to assist enhance general affordability of their merchandise, and guarantee progress within the cost-conscious Indian market.
“Apple is outperforming the general market in India, and nonetheless has nice progress potential,” stated Canalys Mobility Analyst Wilmer Ang, including, “Apple’s progress run might be short-lived. The 5s’ success in India has extra to do with affordability of a premium model than a desire for smaller telephones, and the transfer to the dearer SE will discourage funds consumers. Additionally, the latest authorities regulation curbing reductions on smartphones bought by on-line platforms will have an effect on demand.”
Ishan Dutt, Analysis Analyst at Canalys, described the general state of affairs, “Over the previous 18 months, India’s good telephone market has been rocked by dramatic adjustments. The rise of on-line channels, the arrival of recent worldwide distributors (notably from China), the transfer to LTE and the need for higher-quality gadgets have all had a huge impact. Indian firms have struggled as incoming distributors have been faster to handle these developments. Micromax, particularly, has been by robust occasions, with key executives leaving. Now the corporate is aiming to revamp its technique to include an ecosystem of companies round funds and content material.”
