Micromax becomes the top smartphone manufacturer in India, takes title from Samsung

Samsung continues to struggle. Even after introducing the Tizen powered Samsung Z1 in India, the manufacturer has found itself losing its title as the top smartphone manufacturer in the country. According to data released by research firm Canalys, a home grown company finds itself at top of the smartphone charts in India for the first time ever. With 22% of the Indian market for the fourth quarter, Micromax is now the top smartphone manufacturer in the country.

Micromax was able to succeed by producing handsets priced in the $150 to $200 range. Low priced smartphones are all the rage in the country as 23% of smartphones shipped into India during the fourth quarter were priced under $100. 41% were priced in the $100 to $200 range. Samsung was second with 20% of the Indian smartphone market. Indian smartphone manufacturers Karbonn and Lava finished third and fourth respectively. Overall, 21.6 million smartphones shipped in India during the fourth quarter, leading to an annual growth rate of 90%.


Things have been rough for Samsung lately, and during the fourth quarter its mobile earnings declined by 64%. Depending on which research firm you believe, Apple either topped Samsung as the top smartphone producer globally in Q4 (Counterpoint), Samsung topped Apple (IDC), or it was a tie (Strategy Analytics).


source: Canalys via BGR