Xiaomi or Samsung, Who's the Leader of Indian Smartphone Market?

Smartphone users in India are a confused lot after market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) on Monday crowned Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi with a market share of 29.7 percent and placed Samsung in the second spot with a share of 23.9 percent.

Earlier, two global research firms - Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research and Singapore-based Canalys - in the end of July gave Samsung bigger or almost identical market share with Xiaomi in Q2 2018.

According to IDC's latest Quarterly Smartphone Tracker, approximately one out of three smartphones sold in India was a Xiaomi device in Q2 2018.

The quarter also marked the first time a smartphone brand (Xiaomi) shipped nearly 10 million units within three months.

Xiaomi also continued to be the number one smartphone vendor in the online smartphone market with 55.6 percent market share, for the seventh consecutive quarter, said the report.

"Our mission to deliver amazing products at honest pricing has changed people's lives and started a new chapter in the mobile Internet era in India and I believe we will become an even bigger part of people's lives," said Manu Jain, Vice President, Xiaomi and Managing Director, Xiaomi India.

According to IDC, four out of the top five smartphones in Q2 2018 were Xiaomi smartphones - Redmi 5A, Redmi Note 5 Pro, Redmi Note 5, and Redmi 5 - accounting for 26 percent of overall smartphone shipments.

The Indian smartphone market saw an overall healthy growth of 20 percent, with a total of 33.5 million units being shipped.

However, in late July, Hong Kong-based research firm Counterpoint Research said South Korean firm Samsung reclaimed the top spot in the second quarter in India with 29 percent share against Xiaomi's 28 percent.

According to Singapore-based market research firm Canalys, Samsung shipped 9.9 million smartphones in India in the second quarter of 2018, registering almost a 50 percent annual growth rate, its best since the fourth quarter of 2015,

Chinese handset maker Xiaomi also shipped 9.9 million smartphones and this is the best quarter either vendor has had in the country, said the report. Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro was the top model in the second quarter, with 2.3 million units shipped in India.

According to IDC, in the online segment, Huawei with strong shipments of its Honor branded phones climbed to second position with an all-time high of 8 percent share in online segment in 2Q 2018.

"The market, however, is seeing rapid consolidation at the top end, as the top 5 vendors made up 79 percent of the smartphone market in 2Q18, marginalising smaller brands," said Upasana Joshi, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India.