A new report from Canalys stated that Global smartphone shipment is declined and still India was one of the fastest growing markets. Smartphone shipment in India increased by 10% Y-o-Y, Making India top growing market.
Talking of the numbers, 124.9 million units were sold in 2017 and 137.2 million units were sold in 2018. Resulting, 12 Million units were sold additionally. In the Canalys report, Xiaomi takes the #1 spot by selling more than 41 million smartphones in 2018. Followed by Samsung, They sold more than 35 million smartphones in 2018.
Xiaomi has more market share in India than Xiaomi’s home country China. Two other Chinese smartphone manufacturer was able to get the #3 and #4 spot in top vendors. Vivo sold more than 14 million smartphones and Oppo sold more than 11 million smartphones in India in 2018.
The only Indian company Micromax was somehow able to get the 5th spot. The company sold more than 4.5 million smartphones in 2018. (Thanks to the government campaign)
Xiaomi YoY annual growth is highest by 59.6%, no doubt how they achieved the first spot for the first time beating Samsung. Samsung shipment also increased by 20.4% but not comparable to Xiaomi.
Canalys Research Manager Rushabh Doshi said, “2018 was a defining year for smartphones in India. The impact of a declining Chinese market on vendors such as OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi was pronounced, with OPPO and Vivo reducing both their above- and below-the-line marketing efforts significantly to counter falls in their Chinese businesses. Xiaomi, on the other hand, focused heavily on India, with excellent results. India is now the biggest market for Xiaomi worldwide. The Chinese vendors have done well to ride the spread of 4G and the boom in local apps and services. 2018 was undoubtedly the year app-based economies flourished.”