Smartphone shipment grew 82% to over 33 mn units in India in Jun 2021 qtr: Counterpoint

Smartphone shipment in India grew by 82 per cent in the June 2021 quarter to reach over 33 million units, research firm Counterpoint said on Wednesday.However, smartphone shipment declined 14 per cent sequentially due to a fall in consumer sentiment during the second COVID-19 wave.

Smartphone shipment in India grew by 82 per cent in the June 2021 quarter to reach over 33 million units, research firm Counterpoint said on Wednesday.

However, smartphone shipment declined 14 per cent sequentially due to a fall in consumer sentiment during the second COVID-19 wave. The decline was less-than-expected due to the resilient nature of the smartphone market, it said.

“Smartphone shipments witnessed low volumes during April and May. However, the market saw a pent-up demand in June as restrictions were lifted and stores started to reopen. Offline-centric brands were more affected during April and May as consumers were preferring online channels for purchases,'' Counterpoint Senior Research Analyst Prachir Singh said.

Brands like Xiaomi and Realme were able to maintain high volumes, leveraging their better online reach, Singh added. ''Due to the multiple use-cases and functionalities, the smartphone has become an integral part of daily life and a necessity. The pent-up demand witnessed in June is a testament to that,” Singh said.

Chinese brands held a 79 per cent share in the reported quarter. In terms of market share, Xiaomi (includes POCO) led the tally with 28.4 per cent, followed by Samsung (17.7 per cent), Vivo (15.1 per cent), Realme (14.6 per cent) and Oppo (10.4 per cent). The share of 5G smartphones is constantly increasing, crossing 14 per cent in the June 2021 quarter. Realme was the top 5G smartphone brand with a 23 per cent share, followed by OnePlus. According to Counterpoint, Vivo led the Rs 15,000-20,000 price band, while Samsung led the upper mid-tier (Rs 20,000-30,000) segment. OnePlus also led the premium smartphone market (over Rs 30,000) with a 34 per cent share.

''Apple witnessed 144 per cent y-o-y growth in Q2 2021. The brand maintained its leading position in the ultra-premium segment (over Rs 45,000 or USD 650) with more than 49 per cent share. Continued strong demand for the iPhone 11 coupled with aggressive offers on the iPhone 12 series were the driving factors for this growth,'' it added. The overall mobile handset (feature phones and smartphones) in the Indian market grew 74 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2021 but declined 28 per cent over the March 2021 quarter. The feature phone market declined 50 per cent sequentially with the second COVID-19 wave reducing the disposable income of its consumers, who mainly reside in tier III and IV towns, and rural areas, Counterpoint said.

Itel led the feature phone market with a 24 per cent share, followed by Jio, Lava and Samsung.