India’s smartphone market witnessed a growth in shipments in 2021, recovering strongly in the latter part after a tough start to the year due to the second wave of COVID-19.
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The smartphone shipments in the country surged 12% to 162 million units in 2021, compared to the previous year, according to a report by market analyst firm Canalys.
“India smartphone market dynamics shifted every quarter in 2021. COVID-19 crises, volatile consumer demand and supply chain disruptions plagued the market this year,” Sanyam Chaurasia, Analyst at Canalys said, adding that the vaccination rollout, market reopening and pent-up demand, led to smartphone shipments reaching all-time highs for the full year.
Xiaomi, Samsung and Vivo continued to be the top three players, however, their individual market shares dipped slightly. Realme, which took the fourth position, grew its market share in 2021, widening the gap with its Chinese counterpart, Oppo, placed in the fifth spot.
Xiaomi’s shipments remained about the same at 40.5 million units in 2021, compared to the previous year. The China-based firm captured a quarter of India’s smartphone market share to claim the leading position.
Samsung's shipments expanded 5% year-on-year with 30.1 million units shipped last year. The South Korea-based tech giant diversified chipset configurations to effectively manage supply-related issues, the report noted.
Vivo’s shipments fell 4% to 25.7 million units in 2021, compared to the previous year. The Chinese firm also witnessed a 27% drop year-over-year in December ended quarter, slipping to the fourth spot in the quarter.
Among the last two Chinese companies in the top five, Realme took a larger slice of India’s smartphone market, even climbing to third place for the first time, in the last quarter of 2021, the report said, adding that the firm’s record shipment total was made possible by innovations in planning and stock management.
Realme’s shipments grew 25% year-over-year having shipped 24.2 million units last year. While Oppo shipped 20.1 million units in 2021 for year-on-year growth of 6%.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, the smartphone shipments rose 2% to 44.5 million units, despite supply chain challenges. JioPhone Next, which aims to upgrade feature-phone users, made a strong start with several million units sold in the quarter.
“Growth is expected to continue in 2022, driven by both replacement demand and new customers migrating to smartphones,” Chaurasia said, adding, however, shipments will be stifled in H1 2022 before the component shortage eases.
