India is now the second largest smartphone market in the world behind China, according to new data analysis.
We¡¯ve taken over the spot from the US, pushing it down to third, according to research by market analysis firm Canalys.
Shailesh Andrade/Reuters
India reportedly shipped 40 million smartphones in the third quarter of this year, 23 percent more than the in the same time period of 2016. That increase is what put us on top of the western nation. China originally overtook the US way back in 2011 for the top spot.
Canalys analyst Rushabh Doshi says India has been steadily improving network coverage, with more people being able to access 4G at more reasonable prices. That in turn has driven up demand for more budget smartphones.
Canalys
With an estimated 1.3 billion people in the country, we¡¯re on track to have just fewer than 300 million smartphones in India by the start of 2018. And those smartphones are being supplied primarily by Android smartphone brands with budget models. Samsung and Xiaomi are both vying for the same market share, with Vivo coming in third.
Samsung shipped close to 9.4 million smartphones in India this past quarter, compared to 7 million last year, while Xiaomi grew from 3 million in the same time period of 2016 to 9.2 million this year. Vivo, Oppo, and Lenovo are engaged in heated competition, but are pretty far from the numbers of the top two.