Tech giant Apple has recorded its highest-ever value share of 28 per cent in the Indian smartphone market, driven by a surging "premiumisation" trend where consumers are increasingly opting for high-end devices, according to a report by Counterpoint Research.
Prices of televisions are expected to rise by 3-4 per cent from January next year on account of the rising cost of memory chips and depreciation of the rupee, which recently crossed the 90-to-a-dollar mark for the first time.
GenAI smartphones are mobile devices that leverage large-scale, pre-trained GenAI models to create original content or perform contextually aware tasks.
Qualcomm is partnering with Indian firms like Lenskart to make smart glasses nearly as affordable as regular eyewear.
India is slowly expanding its share as the third-largest market for smartphones globally in terms of value, even as countries like China, at the top, and the UK, at fifth, have seen declines, according to global data from Counterpoint Research.
India's entry-level 5G smartphone segment, typically held to be those priced below 10,000, is set to bustle in the upcoming festival season as brands like HMD, Poco, and Lava launch their products.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Apple products if the tech giant does not shift iPhone production from India to the United States. Trump said he expects iPhones sold in the US to be manufactured in America and not India, or anyplace else. He also said that he had a "little problem" with Apple CEO Tim Cook for building manufacturing facilities in India. Cook had previously said that the majority of iPhones sold in the US would have India as their country of origin. Experts say that shifting production to the US would be more expensive than assembling iPhones in India.
Apple will source the majority of the iPhone sold in the US from India in the June quarter while China will produce the vast majority of the devices for other markets amid uncertainty over tax tariffs, a top official said on Friday.
Apple's ambitious strategy to expand iPhone exports, shift more production from China to India at a faster pace, and grow its domestic market hits a Trump-sized roadblock.
Chinese smart devices firm Xiaomi's India head Muralikrishnan B has resigned from the company to pursue his interest in academic research, the company said on Monday. He will continue to support Xiaomi India as an independent Strategic Advisor, the company said. "Muralikrishnan B, the current President of Xiaomi India, will be transitioning out of his role at the end of the year.
iPhone maker Apple has set an all-time revenue record in India and observed a double-digit growth in iPad sales in the country in the September 2024 quarter, senior officials of the company said on Friday. The company reported an over 6 per cent growth in total net sales to $94.93 billion during the reported period from $89.49 billion a year ago.
iPhone maker Apple led India market with highest revenue in 2023 for the first time while Samsung topped the chart in terms of sales volume, market research firm Counterpoint Research said on Wednesday. While India's smartphone shipments remained flat in 2023 at 152 million units, Samsung and Chinese mobile phone makers Vivo and Oppo were able to grow their shares, according to Counterpoint's Monthly India Smartphone Tracker report. "Apple's focus on India is also aiding the trend, with the brand surpassing the 10-million-unit mark in shipments and capturing the top position in revenue in a calendar year for the first time, propelled by robust demand for both its latest and older iPhones.
Counterpoint Research estimates that Xiaomi will end CY23 with a volume market share in CY23 to 15 per cent, pushing the Chinese company, which has faced numerous challenges and scrutiny from investigative agencies, to the third place.
Can the launch of smartphones under its own brand name by Finnish company HMD Global - despite having a licence to use the Nokia brand which it bought from Microsoft - help it regain its once dominant position in the mobile phone sweepstakes in India, where it was once routed? In 2009, Nokia was the country's largest MNC with revenues of $4 billion and a market share touching 80 per cent in 2010. After this, its fortunes fell. Although it had been the first global player to set up an assembly plant, not only to assemble phones for the local market but for exports, it had to shut down operations in 2014.
This year will be the one when GenAI becomes a part of the daily lives of people around the world.
Smart devices maker Samsung continued to lead the smartphone market in the country for the fourth consecutive quarter in July-September with a 17.2 per cent market share, market research firm Counterpoint said on Wednesday. Shipments of iPhone maker Apple crossed 2.5 million units in the reported quarter thereby registering an all-time high in a quarter, according to the Counterpoint's Monthly India Smartphone Tracker report. "Samsung maintained its leading position for the fourth consecutive quarter with a 17.2 per cent share driven by the success of its A and M series.
For the smart phone industry, it has been a lacklustre quarter of CY2024, with sales falling by 3-4 per cent over the same period last year, according to Counterpoint Research projections. However, with the launch of many new models in Q1 of CY24, overall shipments grew year-on-year by 10-12 per cent. In CY23 shipments remained flat, ending the year with 152 million units.
Korean electronics major Samsung expects its new foldable devices Galaxy Fold 5 and Galaxy Flip 5 will enable it to capture half of the super premium smartphone segment in India, currently dominated by iPhone maker Apple.
Xiaomi will strengthen its product portfolio and launch 5G devices in the sub-Rs 15,000 segment as it looks to increase its market share in the segment. Xiaomi led the shipments in overall smartphone category in 2021 with a 24 per cent share, according to Counterpoint Research. However, in the 5G segment it is ranked fourth behind One Plus, Samsung, and Vivo, with a 13 per cent share.
US chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AM) on Friday announced a $400 million investment in India over the next five years and said it will build its largest design centre in Bengaluru. AMD chief technology officer Mark Papermaster made the announcement at the annual semiconductor conference in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Undeterred by Taiwan's Foxconn pulling out of his group's $20 billion semiconductor-making venture, mining baron Anil Agarwal said the first phase of Vedanta's chip-making project will be ready in two-and-a-half years.
Similar discounts compared to online led to a spike in demand for offline, where customers can get a more personal and hands-on product experience.
Mobile device maker Realme has overtaken South Korean giant Samsung to grab the second spot in the branded smartphone market, with 18 per cent volume share in October this year, revealed Counterpoint Research. Its rival Samsung ended October with 16 per cent share. Xiaomi (including its brand POCO) was at 20 per cent; Vivo at 13 per cent. The ascent brings Realme closer to its ambition to reach the No. 1 berth by 2022 when it hopes to sell over 40 million smartphones annually.
The reason? Price of open cell panels has gone up 15%. One of the main components in the manufacturing of TV sets, open cells contribute to 60%-65% of the manufacturing cost.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches at 44 places across the country in a money laundering investigation against Chinese smartphone manufacturing company Vivo and related firms, officials said. The searches are being carried out under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at locations in several states including in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya, Maharashtra and others. The agency is conducting searches at 44 places related to Vivo and associated companies, they said.
Whoever can make acquiring smartphones more affordable will win the sales game.
The Apple iPhone comprises 44 per cent of the global smartphone market's revenues and it is the second most-such device to be shipped after Samsung. More than half of smartphones used in the US are iPhones. More than 7 million iPhones are expected to be sold in India in 2022, extending the user base to 20 million, according to market research and analyst firm Techarc. Hence, the news about Apple scaling down its production target for iPhone 14 in India has made news.
Trends like bundled offers and 4G-LTE feature phones could become mainstream in 2018
The company will, however, not bring its new 5G-enabled Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a (5G) to India and Singapore markets.
Technology major Apple earned nearly one-third of its revenue from emerging markets and doubled its business in India and Vietnam in fiscal 2021, according to its CEO Tim Cook said. Apple posted a 29 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue at $83.4 billion in the fourth quarter ended September 25, 2021. Its net income stood at $20.55 billion in the said quarter as against $12.67 billion in the year-ago period.
The chipset accounts for over 25%-30% of the cost of an average smart phone. Hence, a reduction in its price, device makers say, will make a huge difference to the cost of a phone.
How did Micromax achieve this feat though? It wasn't simply a matter of better marketing but a combination of pricing, timing and offering that did the trick for the desi brand.
It has captured 38 per cent of the feature phone segment in 2018 through frequent innovation, says Arnab Dutta.
The home-grown company has recently become the largest mobile phone seller in India. Vipul Vivek explains why Micromax devices have caught the fancy of users.
A few days ago, Reliance Retail surprised the market by acquiring the Campa brand from Delhi-based Pure Drinks Ltd for Rs 22 crore. A successful cola brand in the eighties, especially in North India, Campa Cola thrived when Coke exited India in the late seventies. When the Atlanta-based major returned and PepsiCo set base in India, it went down fighting.
Chinese handset maker Xiaomi overtook Samsung to become the top player in the Indian smartphone market in the December quarter, ending the Korean company's 6-year dominance, reports by Canalys and Counterpoint Research said.
While the record shipments reflects the prevailing mood at the time, the exponential rise in Covid cases in the country has turned the tide since.
By the end of 2017, the Chinese firm had emerged as the fastest growing brand after posting 343 per cent growth with 19 per cent market share for the full year.
A fleet of cutting-edge premium handsets have been lined up by OnePlus, Google, Huawei and Nokia.
These will be available at Apple authorised retailers from September 29
Revenue share from India has inched up to nearly 0.8 per cent of its global sales. The revenue growth rate is in stark contrast to the firm's performance in volume terms.
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