Apple is now fastest-growing smartphone brand in India
What's the story
Apple has set a record for first-quarter iPhone sales in India.
The tech giant shipped three million iPhones during the period, according to IDC, its highest-ever quarterly figure.
The iPhone 16 emerged as the most popular model among Indian consumers, contributing to 4% of all shipments.
The stellar performance made Apple the fastest-growing brand among India's top five smartphone makers with a year-on-year growth of 23%.
Downturn
Xiaomi faces significant decline
In stark contrast to Apple's success, Xiaomi saw a major drop in its smartphone shipments.
The company's shipments declined by 42% year-on-year, which reduced its market share from 12.8% in Q1 2024 to 7.8%.
Even Xiaomi's sub-brand Poco witnessed a decline with a shipment drop of 31.1%, which brought its market share down to an even smaller 4.3%.
Others
Vivo and Samsung maintain positions
Despite Xiaomi's fall, Vivo continued to lead the Indian smartphone market with a share of 19.7%.
Samsung closely followed at second place with a market share of 16.4%.
OPPO retained the third spot with a share of 12% while Realme took the fourth place with a 10.6% market share.
This was primarily due to its recent budget-friendly launches that drew many consumers.
Market trends
Premium smartphone segments see significant growth
Overall, the Indian smartphone market witnessed strong growth in the premium and mid-premium segments.
The ₹50,000-70,000 category witnessed a phenomenal year-on-year growth of 78.6%, primarily driven by the iPhone 16 which contributed a whopping 32% of shipments in this range.
The ₹30,000-50,000 segment also surged with a 74% increase, courtesy of popular models such as Apple's iPhone 13 and Samsung's Galaxy A56.
Shifts
5G adoption accelerates, offline channels see growth
India's average selling price (ASP) increased by 4% to ₹23,000 this quarter.
The mass-budget segment (₹8,000-16,000) declined by nearly 22% YoY, shrinking its market share from 48% to 40%.
Meanwhile, 5G adoption continued to pick up pace with 29 million units shipped accounting for an impressive 88% of all smartphones sold.
Offline channels saw a 10% YoY growth, now accounting for an unprecedented share of over half (58.1%) shipments since 2019.