The demand for 5G smartphones in a country like India is shooting up due to the telecom operators rolling out the network technology at a rapid pace. As users look to upgrade their devices, the next obvious option for them is a 5G phone. One reason why many could hesitate to upgrade to a 5G phone is 'affordability'. However, that issue will be addressed in the near future. According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, the average selling price (ASP) of the 5G phones dropped to US $357 in India in Q3 2023, a decline of 9% YoY. This coupled with the unlimited 5G data offer from the Indian telcos, more and more users have started upgrading to a 5G phone.
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As per the report, 5G smartphone shipments in Q3 2023 recorded a 58% share with 25 million units, a first for the Indian market. The response from the market won't only encourage the mobile makers or the OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to invest further into their 5G projects, but will also push the telcos to innovate and bring 5G to more corners of the country.
IDC reported that Samsung Galaxy A14, iPhone 13, and Redmi 12 were the highest-shipped 5G smartphones in Q3 2023. In fact, more people are looking for affordable 5G phones. In the mass budget segment ($100-200 USD), the 5G share grew from 34% to 52% QoQ.
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Upasana Joshi, Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India, said, "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."
In the top 10 brands list, Samsung was at the top again in Q3 2023 with a 16.2% share, which is actually 12.2% down YoY. Realme, Vivo, Xiaomi, and OPPO were in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th ranks, respectively. At the sixth and seventh rank were OnePlus and Poco. Both these brands registered the largest growth YoY. OnePlus's market share grew by 50.1% (YoY) in India while for Poco, the growth was at 50.8%.
