India Smartphone Shipments Fall 3 Percent YoY in Q3, Samsung Retains Leadership: Canalys

Xiaomi has grabbed 21 percent of the market share primarily fueled by the release of its affordable 5G models.

Written by Nithya P Nair, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 20 October 2023 12:04 IST

India Smartphone Shipments Fall 3 Percent YoY in Q3, Samsung Retains Leadership: Canalys

Photo Credit: Samsung

Premium smartphone segment also witnessed robust growth in the just-ended quarter

Highlights

Samsung enjoyed a major share of India's smartphone shipments
Xiaomi expanded its 5G portfolio with Redmi 12 5G and Poco M6 Pro 5G
Companies promoted budget-friendly 5G smartphone segment in Q3

Smartphone shipments in India declined 3 percent year-on-year (YoY) for the July-September period (Q3) in 2023, shows a new report by market research firm Canalys. Despite the fall, Samsung continued to lead the smartphone market with 7.9 million shipments and 18 percent market share. The South Korean company launched its Galaxy S23 series early this year and the flagship phones have apparently helped grow its market share. Xiaomi is in a close second spot, followed by other Chinese smartphone brands including Vivo, Realme, and Oppo in the top five places. Upcoming festival sales and improved consumer confidence are expected to lead to positive growth in the coming months.

Analyst firm Canalys said in its latest report that 43 million smartphones were shipped in India in the third quarter of 2023. The figure marks a 3 percent drop in year-on-year shipments.

Following past trends, Samsung enjoyed a major share of India's smartphone shipments and maintained its top position in Q3 with a market share of 18 percent and a shipment of 7.9 million units. Xiaomi advanced to the second position by shipping 7.6 million units. The Chinese brand has grabbed 21 percent of the market share primarily fueled by the release of its affordable 5G models. Vivo came third with 7.2 million shipments and a 16 percent market share. Other BBK subsidiaries, Realme and Oppo came in fourth and fifth, respectively. Realme shipped 5.8 million units and got a 14 percent market share, while Oppo shipped 4.4 million units and received a 12 percent market share.

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Canalys notes that brands promoted their festive product lineup with a focus on the budget-friendly 5G smartphone segment. Xiaomi expanded its 5G portfolio with the launch of budget-friendly models like the Redmi 12 5G and Poco M6 Pro 5G, contributing to the growth of 5G offerings in their lineup. Realme also gained traction in the market with its Realme 11x 5G and Realme 11 5G models. Brands like Motorola, Infinix and Tecno also drove limited volume through their new affordable 5G devices.

The premium smartphone segment also witnessed robust growth in the just-ended quarter, as per the report. Sales of Samsung's Galaxy S23 series and Apple's iPhone 14, and iPhone 13 lineup surged during the festive sales driven by online sale offers.

Canalys observes that increased consumer confidence and the launch of new handsets will likely help the market move toward gradual recovery. “Despite the market gaining consumer confidence in the second half, the road to recovery will be challenged by global economic concerns,” said Canalys senior analyst Sanyam Chaurasia. “The growth in 2024 hinges on uncertain macroeconomic factors, particularly affecting the vulnerable entry-level segment. However, the Indian economy remains relatively resilient to sudden shocks from these variables and brands are adapting to market dynamics. To maintain market share, vendors should prioritise reducing channel pressures and building a lean product portfolio. They should have ‘hero models' in each price segment while maintaining balanced inventories across channels” he added.

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Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Samsung Galaxy S23

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Compact design that?s hard to beat
Long-term software update commitment
Good performance, effective heat management
All-day battery life
IP68 rated

Bad
Only minor design changes
Relatively slow charging

Read detailed Samsung Galaxy S23 review

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 10-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB

Battery Capacity 3,900mAh

OS Android 13

More Samsung mobiles Samsung mobiles price in India

Redmi 12 5G

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
5G on a budget
Multiple RAM and storage variants
Main, selfie camera deliver good daylight performance
Great battery life

Bad
Display isn't legible under harsh lighting
No ultra-wide camera
Bloatware in MIUI

Read detailed Xiaomi Redmi 12 5G review

Display 6.79-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 2-megapixel

RAM 4GB, 6GB, 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB

Battery Capacity 5000mAh

OS Android 13

Resolution 2460x1080 pixels

More Xiaomi mobiles Xiaomi mobiles price in India

Poco M6 Pro 5G

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.79-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 2-megapixel

RAM 4GB, 6GB, 8GB

Storage 64GB, 128GB, 256GB

Battery Capacity 5000mAh

OS Android Android 13

Resolution 2460x1080 pixels

More Poco mobiles Poco mobiles price in India

Realme 11X 5G

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.72-inch

Processor MediaTek Dimensity 6100+

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 64-megapixel + 2-megapixel

RAM 6GB, 8GB

Storage 128GB

Battery Capacity 5000mAh

OS Android Android 13

Resolution 1080x2400 pixels

More Realme mobiles Realme mobiles price in India

Realme 11 5G

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.72-inch

Processor MediaTek Dimensity 6100+

Front Camera 16-megapixel

Rear Camera 108-megapixel + 2-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB

Battery Capacity 5000mAh

OS Android 13

Resolution 2400x1080 pixels

More Realme mobiles Realme mobiles price in India

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Further reading: Samsung, Apple, iPhone 14, iPhone 13, Samsung Galaxy S23, Xiaomi

Nithya P Nair

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Nithya P Nair is a journalist with more than five years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in business and technology beats. A foodie at heart, Nithya loves exploring new places (read cuisines) and sneaking in Malayalam movie dialogues to spice up conversations. More