Jio the Top 4G Mobile Device Maker in India in 2018, Finds CMR

The shipments of 4G devices surpassed 200 million units in India in 2018, growing by 50 percent from 2017, and securing a market share of 64 percent, a report by CyberMedia Research (CMR) said on Thursday.

While 4G-enabled mobile device shipments crossed 60 percent, 4G tablets accounted for 44 percent of the total tablet shipments in 2018, said CMR's Annual 4G LTE Devices India Market Review Report 2018.

"The 4G device penetration in India continues to gain traction, with 4G mobile phone and 4G tablet shipments on the rise. Reliance Jio Infocomm has been the X-factor," said Prabhu Ram, Head - Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR.

In 2018, 4G contributed for 100 percent of the total data cards that were shipped throughout the year.

Reliance Jio (including Reliance Retail's Lyf), Xiaomi, and Samsung emerged as the top 4G mobile phone players with 33 percent, 20 percent, and 17 percent market shares, respectively 2018. The Jio Phone was counted as Reliance Jio's 4G mobile device offering.

In the 4G tablets category, Lenovo, Samsung and iBall secured 40 percent, 26 percent and 14 percent market shares, respectively.

According to CMR, 4G technology adoption would potentially surpass 80 percent by 2024.

Narinder Kumar, Lead Analyst-IIG, CMR, said: "2019 will continue to see 4G adoption in India increase, through 4G feature phones, and bundled offerings at the entry level contributing to growth in 4G device shipments."

In addition, the report also estimates that 5G smartphone shipments in India would top 140 million by 2025.

"Our internal research estimates point to the 5G-enabled devices contributing to three per cent of the total smartphone shipments by 2021 and potentially reach 16 per cent by 2025," Ram said, adding "The course of 5G in India will be driven by how Jio plays its cards."