Lenovo, Xiaomi See Gains in Indian Smartphone Market in Q3 2016: Canalys

According to a market research firm, the Indian smartphone market in Q3 2016 experienced a 20 percent year-on-year growth in terms of shipments, growing to 30 million units. Samsung grew along with the market, and retained a lead of just over 20 percent. Other manufacturers like Micromax, Intex, and Lava have seen a slump in their shipments in the country whereas Chinese mobile giants - Lenovo and Xiaomi have climbed to get the second and fourth positions respectively.

Canalys on Tuesday published its report for Q3 2016 smartphone shipments in India, giving an insight into the smartphone growth in the country. Lenovo has ousted Micromax from the second spot, and the research firm cites an increase in offline sales as the reason for its growth in shipments. Micromax stands at the third spot. Xiaomi, on the other hand, has reached the number four spot, thanks to an increased number of shipments - a 170 percent growth year-on-year, and more than double when compared to the previous quarter. Canalys says this was the company's strongest quarter yet in India, in terms of shipments.

Canalys Analyst, Rushabh Doshi, says, "Lenovo's focus on offline channels and Xiaomi's move away from being an online-only vendor have clearly helped."

The number of smartphones that support 4G LTE are increasing in the country, with almost every manufacturer increasing its 4G portfolio. The new entrants like Lyf have also climbed to gain good positions on the ladder, with Lyf itself holding the fifth position. The advent of recently-launched Reliance Jio has shot up the 4G smartphone market in India, among other reasons to boost up to the new statistics.

Doshi adds, "Indian consumers are increasingly looking past local players' smartphones in favour of international brands. There is ongoing portfolio consolidation as local players change their product strategies, emphasizing the 4G-enabled models that are now becoming mainstream. Besides having a strong LTE portfolio, channel strategy is increasingly important for smart phone success... ‘Despite its smartphone shipments halving, Micromax held onto third place, but it is coming under pressure from Xiaomi and fifth-placed Lyf."

In a related news, India is also predicted to reach 1 billion unique mobile subscribers by 2020, as per a latest report published by GSMA at an event in Gurgaon. The 4G connections in the country are also forecast to grow rapidly, growing from just three million at the end of 2015 to 280 million by 2020, the report says.