The Indian smartphone market saw a decline in the number of smartphone units shipped in CY2020. According to a report from the International Data Corporation (IDC), 150 million units of smartphones shipped during last year, which is 1.7% lesser on a YoY basis. The decline in the growth rate can be credited to the lockdown and shutting down of production facilities in India and around the globe for consecutive months. During the first half of 2020 (H1), smartphones' demand went down by 26%. But it recovered quite well during the second half (H2) marking a 19% YoY growth rate for the H2 in 2020 — more details on the story ahead.
Fourth Quarter of 2020 Saw Record Shipment of Smartphones
The IDC report highlighted that the demand for smart products such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets grew rapidly in 2020 due to lockdowns and restrictions pushing people to learn and work from their homes.
The smartphone industry fared well during the last quarter of 2020 witnessing a record fourth-quarter (Q4) shipment of 45 million smartphone units. It registered a 21% YoY growth for the Q4.
While 2020 saw a decline in smartphones' total shipment, IDC believes that the number will surely rise in CY2021 with consumers looking to upgrade their smartphones. More and more consumers are expected to upgrade with mid-range devices and affordable 5G smartphones in CY2021.
Xiaomi turned out to be the number one smartphone brand in India with its online position for the year 2020 standing at 39% share with Redmi 9 series leading the way in H2 of 2020.
Samsung remained in the second position with its heavily online-driven smartphone series launched during the year - ‘M’ and ‘F’. Samsung’s online channel saw a growth rate of 65% YoY.
Followed by Samsung, Vivo stood at the third position driven by its ‘Y’ series smartphones and offline distribution channel. At the fourth position was Realme that surpassed Oppo. Even after introducing the cheaper iPhone SE 2, Apple came out to be in the seventh position.
