5G rollout is happening at a rapid pace in India. But with that, even the 5G phone shipments are growing fast. In 2023, over 75% of the new smartphones introduced in India are expected to be 5G capable. This means that nearly eight devices in every ten would be 5G enabled. According to Menka Kumari, analyst-industry intelligence group (IIG), CyberMedia Research (CMR), the market has come a long way with the 5G smartphone market share from 4% in CY2020 to 45% in CY2023.
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Last year (in 2022), nearly 100 new 5G smartphones were launched in India. In 2023, the figure is only expected to go higher. As per CMR, India's 5G smartphone market is expected to expand by more than 70% (YoY) by the end of CY2023. In 2022, Samsung, Vivo, and OnePlus led the 5G smartphone shipments. However, in the affordable category, it was Xiaomi and Realm that made the more significant difference.
With the Indian telecom operators rolling out 5G at an aggressive pace, the demand for 5G smartphones would also increase. However, consumers are unlikely to change their natural behaviour and go for 5G phones just for the sake of 5G. Therefore, the device refresh cycle is expected to be the same as 5G doesn't appeal to the consumers in the way it was anticipated it would.
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5G is more of a solution for enterprises to automate business processes. But for the consumers, it is nothing but a way to exhaust the data faster. Indian telcos, including Jio and Airtel, plan to avail 5G in every part of the nation in the next 1 to 1.5 years. Jio has already reached 134 cities, while Airtel has reached 42 cities with its 5G. Most of the new smartphones launching now support the 5G of Reliance Jio (5G SA) and Bharti Airtel (5G NSA).
