India’s smartphone market shipments flat at 44 mn units in Q3: IDC

India’s smartphone market remained flat year-over-year in Q3 2023 with shipments of 44 million units due to weak performance in the quarter, according to the latest report released by the International Data Corporation (IDC) on Tuesday. It has now maintained a flat/low single-digit decline outlook for the market in 2023.

The research firm noted that July and August, the first two months of the third quarter, registered single-digit growth as the channels started early festive stocking, but September had its lowest shipments since 2019, as tapered demand and high prices restricted growth.

This came on the heels of a challenging first half of the year and a modest start to the festive season, IDC said.

“A range of microfinancing options available on budget devices like no cost EMI offers for longer periods (from 24 to 30 months) and affordability initiatives by all major brands has given a modest start to the festive season. However, as demand softens in the latter half of the quarter (post-Diwali), brands may face excess inventory challenges,” said Navkendar Singh, AVP – Devices Research, IDC.

In terms of brands’ performance, South Korea’s Samsung overtook Vivo to reclaim the leadership position in India’s smartphone market with a share (by volume) of 16.2% in Q3 2023, as per IDC data.

“Samsung surpassed vivo for the leadership position, although its shipments declined YoY. Samsung had the highest ASP amongst the top five brands at US$381, growing by 43% YoY,” IDC said.

Samsung’s shipments fell 12.2% year-over-year and its market share also shrunk from 18.5% in Q3 2022 to 16.2% in Q3 2023. Realme climbed to second place with a 6.5% year-over-year rise in its shipments, which also helped grow its market share from 14.2% in Q3 2022 to 15.1% in Q3 2023. Third-placed Vivo (excluding iQOO), registered the highest growth amongst the top five brands at 13.7% year-over-year, as per IDC data.

Xiaomi and Oppo fell the highest at 32.4% year-over-year and 20.2% year-over-year, respectively, which is also reflected in their shrunken market share. Meanwhile, Poco and OnePlus grew the fastest at 50.8% year-over-year and 50.1% year-over-year, respectively, the IDC report shows.

Apple shipments grew 10% year-over-year, and its market share expanded marginally from 5% in Q3 2022 to 5.5% in Q3 2023.

The Cupertino-based tech company led the super-premium segment ($600+) with a 60% share, driven by the shipments of iPhone 13, iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. Samsung also gained share in this segment, from 24% to 36% in Q3 2023, owing to the newly launched Galaxy Z Fold5/Flip5 and Galaxy S23+/S23 Ultra.

Notably, 5G smartphone shipments reached a record 58% share with 25 million units in Q3 2023. 5G average selling price (ASP) dropped to $357 (~Rs 29,700) in the quarter, a decline of 9% year-over-year. The majority of 5G smartphone launches were in the mass budget ($100<$200) price segment, increasing the 5G share in this segment to 52% from 34% a quarter ago. Samsung’s Galaxy A14, Apple’s iPhone 13, and Xiaomi’s Redmi 12 were the highest shipped 5G models in 3Q23, as per IDC. “A swift uptake in affordable 5G smartphone shipments signals bullish sentiments and success of affordability efforts of the vendors. We should expect the previous generation of premium smartphone models to be in high demand this festive season, made affordable by various offers and upfront discounts across channels,” said Upasana Joshi, Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India. Foldable phone shipments hit a record half million units in a single quarter, Samsung leading with 66% share. New launches by Motorola at lower price points brought the ASP of foldable phones down to $1198 from $1319 a year ago.