Samsung is facing tough competition from the likes of OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi in the Indian smartphone market. However, the South Korean firm did quite well in Q1 2021 even if it couldn't dethrone Xiaomi from its pole position. The company's market share improved from 16% in Q1 2020 to 20% in Q1 2021.
The latest report from market analysis firm Counterpoint Research shows that Samsung ranked second in India's smartphone market, with a market share of 20%. Xiaomi (including POCO) is still the biggest smartphone brand in India (in terms of shipments) with a 26% share of the market. Vivo ranks third with a 16% market share, Realme ranks fourth with an 11% market share, and OPPO ranks fifth with an 11% share of the market.
Apple grew 207% (year-on-year) and OnePlus grew more than 300% (year-on-year) in the Indian smartphone market during the first quarter of this year. The iPhone market reportedly captured a 48% share of the premium smartphone market (above $400) in India. OnePlus, on the other hand, was the top 5G smartphone vendor in India. However, they are nowhere to be seen in the list of top five smartphone brands.
After facing huge losses in Q2 2020 and Q3 2020 due to COVID-19 related lockdowns, the Indian smartphone market has rebounded with the highest-ever first-quarter shipments.
Samsung performed well in Q1 2021, thanks to various smartphone launches across the price spectrum. The South Korean firm launched the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S20 FE 5G, Galaxy A72, Galaxy A52, Galaxy A32, Galaxy A12, Galaxy F62, Galaxy F02s, Galaxy F12, Galaxy M12, Galaxy M02s, in India during Q1 2021.