Samsung and OPPO turned out to be the top smartphone vendors in India in Q1 2023. Indian smartphone shipments declined by more than 20% YoY during the quarter. The data was published by Canalys on Wednesday. The decline in shipments was already expected. Samsung has retained its top position with a 21% market share in smartphone shipments. In the second position was OPPO, which overtook Xiaomi and Vivo by shipping 5.5 million smartphone units during the quarter. Samsung's total shipments came to 6.3 million units. Note that Canalys has also included the smartphone shipments of OnePlus in OPPO and POCO's shipments in Xiaomi.
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Vivo was in third position with 5.4 million units, not too behind OPPO. For Xiaomi, the quarter was an indecent one as it slipped to 5.0 million units and ranked fourth. Realme maintained its fifth position as it shipped 2.9 million units.
Sanyam Chaurasia, an Analyst at Canalys, said, "The Indian market faces early-year struggles but vendors keep fueling the market as they remain bullish on long-term prospects. Just as the economic indicators toward the end of Q4 2022 clearly suggested that demand would remain sluggish in the short term, it was witnessed so in Q1 2023. Despite this challenge, investments from major brands are pouring in as they align with the government's vision and changing consumer behaviour."
According to Chaurasia, smartphone makers must balance channel contributions to maintain market share and keep business stable. The analyst added that 2023 is going to be a tough year for smartphone vendors as the mass-market segment is still moving slowly. However, the premium segment is poised for growth which will contribute to the increase in the average selling price (ASP) growth of the overall market.
"As disposable income gradually rises, consumers are willing to spend more on premium devices. To succeed in this segment, brands must prioritize availability, affordability and aspirational value," said the analyst.
