Samsung Galaxy solidifies dominance in Indian smartphone market

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. solidified its dominance in the Indian smartphone market, capturing its largest revenue share in the third quarter.

Samsung held a 22.8% value share of the market, according to Counterpoint Technology Market Research’s Monthly India Smartphone Tracker.

Apple Inc. notched second with a 21.6% market share, supported by strong shipments of its iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 series.

Chiana’s Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi captured the third, fourth and fifth spots in terms of value.

Samsung, also the top player last year, saw its revenue share increase by 0.2 percentage point from the third quarter of 2023, while Apple’s share fell by 0.2 percentage point.

“Samsung currently leads the market in terms of value. The brand has been prioritizing its flagship Galaxy S series and enhancing its value-driven portfolio," said Counterpoint Senior Research Analyst Prachir Singh.

“Samsung is also integrating Galaxy AI features into its mid-range and affordable premium models in the A series, encouraging consumers to upgrade to higher price segments,” he said.

AI FEATURES AVAILABLE ON SAMSUNG BUDGET PHONES

In terms of volume, Samsung ranked third with a 15.8% market share.

Vivo sold the most units in the third quarter, garnering a 19.4% market share, followed by Xiaomi at 16.7%.

"Vivo maintained healthy inventory levels throughout the year, supported by a diverse product portfolio and the successful expansion of its T series," said Shubham Singh, a Counterpoint Research analyst.

Although Samsung lagged behind Chinese brands in terms of sales volume, it maintained the No. 1 market share by revenue, driven by increased sales of premium products like the Galaxy S series.

“The market is increasingly shifting toward value growth, fueled by a premiumization trend,” said analyst Prachir Singh.

In August, Samsung said it will apply its Circle to Search function, previously available on its premium Galaxy S series smartphones, to the more affordable Galaxy A series, to fend off Chinese competitors, which are encroaching on Samsung’s turf in the low-cost phone segment.

The AI-enabled Circle to Search function, jointly developed with Google Inc., was first installed on Samsung’s high-end Galaxy S24 series launched earlier this year.

Circle to Search is one of the most noteworthy features of the Galaxy S24 series.

It enables users to find real-time information about a product or a person appearing on the Galaxy S24 screen by drawing a circle around the image.

Meanwhile, India’s smartphone shipments grew by 3% on-year in the third quarter, with the value surging by 12% to reach a record high for a single quarter, according to Counterpoint Research.

Write to Eui-Myung Park at uimyung@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.