Indian Smartphone Market Grew 7% In 2021, Despite Pandemic Disruptions

The ongoing pandemic-related challenges aren¡¯t affecting the growth of the smartphone market in India, according to an IDC report which has highlighted that it managed to grow by 7 percent in 2021.

Reuters

Also Read: India Smartphone Shipments Dropped 1.7% In 2020, Ending Years Of Growth

According to the International Data Corporation¡¯s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, India shipped 161 million smartphones in the year 2021, up by 7 percent year over year. The year began strongly after the pent-up demand that was seen in the second half of 2020 as well as positivity due to vaccinations.

Sadly this was short-lived due to the hard-hitting second wave resulting in constrained supplies, low inventories across channels in the second half of the year.

The report has predicted that Q1 of 2022 is also expected to remain low due to low seasonal demand as well as mild impact of the Omicron wave.

"Consumers continue to demand better features like the camera, battery, and processors over 5G capability in the entry-level price segments. The large feature phone base will remain crucial but elusive to the smartphone market in the absence of any affordable offerings at the entry-level,¡± said Upasana Joshi, Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India.

Reuters

Also Read: Apple Shipped Most Smartphones In World For Q4 2021, Followed By Samsung

The year 2021 was led by Xiaomi in terms of shipment volumes and market share at 40.4 million and 25.1 percent share respectively. This was followed by Samsung shipping 27.9 million units and 17.4 percent market share.

Third on the list was Vivo at 25.1 million units shipped and 15.6 percent market share. Fourth was Realme at 24.2 million units shipped with a market share of 15.0 percent. Oppo remained on the 5th spot with 17.8 million units shipped and an 11.1 percent market share.

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