India is one of the biggest smartphone markets in the world. Recently, it was reported that the Indian smartphone market witnessed the worst Q3 shipment numbers since 2019. The shipment fell 10% YoY, with total shipments standing at 43 million units in Q3 2022. For Samsung, the good news was that they managed to lead the 5G smartphone segment, with shipments reaching 27% of the market share.
But in terms of exports, there is some alarming news for Samsung, as its rival, Apple, is marching towards the South Korean giant with some promising smartphone export numbers. And in fact, according to the latest report, Apple might soon surpass the export numbers of Samsung by the end of this fiscal year in India. Not only could Apple take the lead by the end of the current fiscal year, but it could also march ahead of Samsung's smartphone exports in India in FY24.
Apple's share has grown to $2.2 billion between April 2022 and October 2022. On the other hand, Samsung's smartphone exports stood at $2.8 billion, which is not far ahead of Apple's. Speaking of the total smartphone exports in India between April and October 2022, the number stood at $5 billion, up from $2.2 billion in the same period in FY22.
Both Apple and Samsung manufacture phones in India under the PLI (Production Linked Incentives) scheme. Apple devices are manufactured by three companies in India: Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron. While the export share for Apple stood at 10% in FY21 in India, it rose nearly to 50% in FY22. Seeing such massive growth, it is expected that Apple may soon take over Samsung's position as India's top smartphone exporter unless Samsung has something in store for the current fiscal year.
