The endless battle between Apple and Samsung for smartphone market supremacy around the world is in the spotlight again in a new quarterly report specifically focused on India, and there are no prizes for guessing which of the two global brands emerges victorious in the region for the April–June 2024 timeframe.
But while Samsung continues to lead the world's second-largest smartphone market in terms of value, the volume crown is taken by Xiaomi this time around, with Vivo closely following in the silver medal position. That's basically the textbook definition of a bittersweet situation for Samsung, especially with its market value share jumping from 23.2 percent in Q2 2023 to 24.5 percent this last quarter and the company's volume share dropping from 18.4 to 18.1 percent in the same period.
Wait, where's Apple?
In a nutshell, Samsung seems to be selling fewer handsets at significantly higher average prices in India, which is certainly good for (short-term) profits but could pose a problem in the long run if those shipment figures continue to decline. While it's currently unclear if that will indeed prove to be the case, Samsung's regional value leadership is likely to endure thanks to the popularity of the new "Fold 6 series" (which may or may not include a Fold 6 Slim).
Those are some very close results between India's top three smartphone vendors.
As for Apple, the Cupertino-based tech giant is still nowhere to be found among India's top five smartphone vendors while ranking third as far as Q2 2024 value is concerned. The company sat in second place in the latter category between April and June 2023, mind you, being somewhat surprisingly edged out by Vivo in addition to Samsung in the same timeframe this year.
It's pretty clear therefore that the latest (and greatest) iPhones aren't exactly selling like hotcakes in India, but that could well change (or at least slightly improve) in Q3 thanks to "recent price cuts across the entire range" of iOS handsets. The iPhone 16 family will then enter the equation (primarily) in Q4, which is still unlikely to help Apple rise to first place among the nation's top vendors.
Top marks for Xiaomi, honorable mentions for Nothing and Motorola
What is selling very well in the country are Xiaomi phones of all price points, with the Chinese company's "streamlined and focused portfolio" impressively managing to blow up in Q2 2024 in terms of both volume and value. Other, smaller brands that experienced massive regional growth compared to Q2 2023 include Nothing, Motorola, and Poco.
Samsung's value lead over Apple is getting bigger and bigger.
Nothing's sales numbers, for instance, jumped more than 500 percent (!!!) following the release of the Phone (2a) and CMF Phone 1, while Motorola's budget-friendly models helped the company improve its overall volumes in the region by a strong 88 percent.
All in all, quarterly smartphone shipments in India slipped by 2 percent year-on-year according to the latest report put together by Counterpoint Research, which actually contradicts the findings of a different analytics firm published almost two weeks ago. Despite that crucial disparity in their latest market estimates, Counterpoint and Canalys have the same five companies in the same order at the top of the sales hierarchy.
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Counterpoint analysts are further focusing their research on the market's 5G segment, which is even more dominant than ever before. Thanks largely to their declining prices, 5G-capable smartphones are slowly becoming ubiquitous in India, accounting for no less than 77 percent of all sales between April and June 2024. That number is likely to continue growing until 4G LTE-only devices will eventually go obsolete... presumably sooner than in other markets like the US or Western Europe.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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