Indian Premium Smartphone Segment Grows 20% Annually

The Indian premium smartphone market saw 20 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth (by volume) in 2017 driven by the strong performance of OnePlus and Apple, a new report said on Wednesday.

The segment grew 28 per cent by value in 2017, Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Counterpoint Research, wrote in a blog post.

"Although the segment is more crowded than a year ago, the top three brands, Apple, OnePlus and Samsung, still contribute to 94 per cent of the overall premium market segment," Pathak wrote.

Apple is still the leader in the premium segment, capturing 47 per cent share during the fourth quarter in 2017 and 38 per cent for the entire year, driven by strong shipments of iPhone X and iPhone 7.

"However, demand for iPhone 8 remained soft and, as a result, the overall Apple shipments in the premium segment declined 31 per cent YoY," he added.

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OnePlus was the fastest growing brand (with over 343 per cent growth) in the segment capturing 25 per cent market share during Q4 2017 and 19 per cent for 2017.

Samsung was behind OnePlus, capturing the third spot, as promotions for its Galaxy S8 and Note 8 remained strong. But it had tough competition from the iPhone 7 and the iPhone X.

"The growth of the Indian premium segment is a positive development for brands like Apple, OnePlus and Google looking to expand their presence in the world's second largest smartphone market," Pathak said.

Other notable brands which expanded their presence in the premium segment included Google, Xiaomi, LG and Nokia HMD.

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"Going forward, we expect the premium segment to continue to grow by more than 20 per cent, both in terms of volume and value in 2018, as more brands are likely to enter the segment.

"These include OPPO, Vivo and Huawei, which have some of their best selling models in China already in this segment," he added.

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