Chinese smartphone brands do battle in India as more consumers upgrade to expensive models
- Indian consumers are upgrading to more expensive smartphones, opening up new opportunities for Chinese brands
- OnePlus, a Shenzhen-based brand, is the top in sales for the premium market in India
Surging demand in India for higher-priced smartphones is changing the perception of the country as a market for cheap feature phones and budget smart handsets. Chinese brands from OnePlus to Xiaomi are rushing to cash in.
Shipments of smartphones priced US$430 and above jumped 33 per cent in the second quarter of this year to a record, compared with 6 per cent growth for the overall Indian market, according to a Counterpoint research note released this week.
“Second quarter was the first-ever quarter when premium segment had the highest number of models, offering wide variety of choice for consumers,” Karn Chauhan, a research analyst from Counterpoint, said in the report. “As more brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Huawei enter this segment, this segment is going to be hyper-competitive in the second half of 2019.”
Shenzhen-based OnePlus regained the top spot in India’s premium market after unveiling its flagship OnePlus 7-series, which captured its highest ever shipment share of 43 per cent in this segment, widening the gap with Samsung and Apple, both of which accounted for about 20 per cent share each, according to Counterpoint data.
