According to CMR’s mobile phone market report for the third quarter of 2020, Indian smartphone shipments rebounded and reached the highest level in history in the third quarter of 2020, increasing 14% year-on-year. Samsung replaced Xiaomi and became the number one smartphone brand in India.
Before the holiday, all leading smartphone brands have launched attractive pre-holiday promotions and sales and discounts, thus driving the smartphone market’s development.
With the launch of OnePlus Nord, the 5G smartphone market has grown from a minimal base by nearly 500%.
Although the smartphone market grew by double digits year-on-year, the overall feature phones grew by only 2%. This is mainly because consumers at the bottom of the pyramid continue to be severely affected by the pandemic.
Key Market Highlights in the Third Quarter of 2020
Samsung defeated Xiaomi and took the top spot with its smartphone shipments up 18% year-on-year. Samsung’s affordable smartphone shipments increased by 38% year-on-year, including the Galaxy M01 Core and M31. Samsung Galaxy M01, A21S, and M30s models accounted for nearly 60% of its total shipments.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions and supply chain issues, Xiaomi’s shipments fell 5% year-on-year to second place. Redmi 8A Dual, Redmi 8, and Redmi Note 9 accounted for nearly half of its total shipments.
Vivo ranked third, driven by its V series and Y series, shipments increased by 7% year-on-year. However, its average quarterly share was flat at 16%. Vivo Y91i, Y30, and the newly released Vivo Y20 series contributed more than 50% of its total shipments.
Realme shipments increased by 13% year-on-year, mainly driven by the Realme C series. Realme C11, Realme C6, Realme 5i, and Realme C3, and the newly launched Realme 7 contributed 50% of its sales.
OPPO shipments increased by 31% year-on-year. In the high-end market, OPPO shipments increased by 135% year-on-year.
OnePlus grew 104% year-on-year. It launched affordable 5G smartphones during the third quarter, and the OnePlus Nord series performed very well. Meanwhile, OnePlus eight and OnePlus 8 Pro accounted for 16% of its shipments in the third quarter. In the third quarter of 2020, OnePlus accounted for 3/4 of India’s 5G mobile phone shipments.
Apple’s shipments increased 67% year-on-year, ranking seventh among the top ten. iPhone SE 2020 and iPhone 11 accounted for 91% of Apple’s shipments in the third quarter.
Transsion Group brands (Itel, Infinix, and Tecno) grew 34% year-on-year. Among them, Infinix successfully launched new models such as Smart 4 Plus and Hot 10, an increase of 355% year-on-year. Tecno was released through new models such as Spark Spark Go, an increase of 95% year-on-year. Itel grew by 143% in the smartphone market and 5% in the feature phone market. Itel ranks first in the Indian feature phone market.
Outlook
According to CMR’s estimates, the Indian smartphone market will grow by 15% year-on-year in the second half of 2020, while the fourth quarter of 2020 will increase by 14% year-on-year.
