India smartphone shipments grew 19 percent to 31 million units in the second quarter of 2016. Apple share dipped significantly in India, said Strategy Analytics.
Samsung continues to lead the Indian smartphone market in Q2. The home grown Micromax has retained the second position. Reliance Jio Infocomm, which is selling LYF brand of smartphone, has been ranked third.
Apple’s smartphone marketshare has halved from 4 percent to just 2 percent in India during the past year.
“Apple iOS will need to reduce iPhone pricing to cheaper levels, attract more operator subsidies and enlarge its retail presence through Apple stores or online channels if it wants to regrow significantly in the future,” said Woody Oh, director at Strategy Analytics.
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said the US-based technology major will open Apple stores in India and enhance market presence.
Samsung ranked no.1 smartphone vendor by volume in 12 of 15 major countries including the US, India, Germany, Brazil, Russia and South Korea during Q2 2016.
The robust sales of both premium Galaxy S7 devices and lower-priced Galaxy J series put Samsung on the leading spot in the smartphone market in 12 major countries. Huawei led the China smartphone market while Apple became the leading smartphone vendor in Japan during the second quarter.
India smartphone market
“Chinese vendors during the quarter grew at the expense of local vendors with heavy marketing investment for their value for money devices,” Rajeev Nair, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics.
Google’s Android has 97 percent smartphone OS marketshare in India.
“Total smartphone shipments in India grew a healthy 19 percent annually from 25.8 million units in Q2 2015 to 30.7 million in Q2 2016,” said Rajeev Nair, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics.
India, the second largest telecom market in terms of mobile connections, is currently the world’s third largest smartphone market, after China and the US. India is growing quickly due to low smartphone penetration rates, an expanding middle class with more disposable income, and intense competition among major vendors, retailers and telecom operators.
Android shipped 29.8 million smartphones in India in Q2 2016, growing at 28 percent annually from 23.2 million units in Q2 2015. Android maintained first position across India with 97 percent OS share for the quarter against 90 percent a year ago.
Google’s Android dominates the India smartphone market due to its deep portfolio of hardware partners, extensive distribution channels, and a wide range of low-cost apps like Gmail. Apple iOS fell 35 percent annually and shipped 0.8 million smartphones in India in Q2 2016.
Baburajan K
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