Samsung, which once led the smartphone market in India[1], slid to the third position in the quarter that ended in December, even as the South Korean giant continues to make major bets[2] on the rare handset market that is still growing. 158 million smartphones shipped in India in 2019, up from 145 million the year before, according to research firm Counterpoint.
Chinese firm Vivo surpassed Samsung to become the second biggest smartphone vendor in India in Q4 2019. Xiaomi, [3] with command over 27% of the market, maintained its top spot in the nation for the tenth consecutive quarter.
Vivo’s annual smartphone shipment grew 76% in 2019. The Chinese firm’s aggressive positioning of its budget S series of smartphones — priced between $100 to $150 (the sweet spot in India) — in the brick and mortar market and acceptance of e-commerce sales helped it beat Samsung, said Counterpoint [4] analysts.
Vivo’s market share jumped 132% between Q4 of 2018 and Q4 of 2019, according to the research firm.
Realme, which spun out of Chinese smartphone maker Oppo[5], claimed the fifth spot. Oppo [6] assumed the fourth position.
Samsung has dramatically lowered prices of some of its handsets in the country and also introduced smartphones with local features[7], but it is struggling to compete with an army of Chinese smartphone makers. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Realme has taken the Indian market by storm[8]. The two-year-old firm has replicated Xiaomi’s playbook in the country and so far focused on selling aggressively low-cost Android smartphones online.
Vivo and Oppo, on the other hand, have over the...