Xiaomi retains top spot in Indian smartphone market in Q3; followed by Samsung, Vivo

Overall, the Chinese smartphone makers enjoyed the lion's share, comprising 76% of all smartphone shipments in Q3. Despite the ongoing Indo-China border tensions, Chinese vendors collectively witnessed a 2 percent growth in shipments as compared to the Q3 2019 shipments.

The Indian smartphone market rebounded in Q3 2020 to reach an all-time high of 50 million shipments, according to the latest estimates from Canalys. While Xiaomi continued to remain a leader in the world's second-largest smartphone market, Samsung surpassed Vivo to regain the second spot.

According to Canalys, Xiaomi posted a growth of 9% to ship 13.1 million units, followed by Samsung with 10.2 million units and Vivo with 8.8 million shipments. Realme managed to secure the fourth spot with 8.7 million units, followed by Oppo with 6.1 million units shipped.

Overall, the Chinese smartphone makers enjoyed the lion's share, comprising 76% of all smartphone shipments in Q3. Despite the ongoing Indo-China border tensions, Chinese vendors collectively witnessed a 2 percent growth in shipments as compared to the Q3 2019 shipments.

U.S. tech giant Apple posted double-digit growth to nearly 800 thousand units in the same quarter.

"Apple is finally paying attention to India. However, its new iPhone 12 family will be a tough sell in India this year, as network operators do not yet have the infrastructure for mass-market 5G deployment, erasing a key feature of the devices. Not to forget, Apple's pricing strategy for its new iPhones in India needs serious consideration," said Canalys Research Director, Rushabh Doshi.

As per the analysts at Canalys, reduced movement restrictions after three months of lockdown and online channels created the atmosphere for sustained growth of the smartphone market.

Commenting on the market landscape, Adwait Mardikar, Canalys Analyst said, "The lockdown forced most of working India to stay at home and refrain from big-ticket spending on travel, food and beverages, increasing the overall dispensable income. On the other hand, unemployment has risen, impacting the lowest rungs of society most, and affecting the long-term outlook of India's smartphone market."