Smartphone shipments in India declined 16 percent in the January-March quarter of 2023

Smartphone shipments in India fell 16 percent year-on-year in the January-March quarter to 31 million units, market research firm IDC reported on Thursday. Realme and Xiaomi shipments recorded the biggest decline during the quarter.

According to IDC, the smartphone market in India is expected to witness flat growth in 2023 report said.

“India shipped 31 million smartphones in the first quarter of 2023, a 16 percent year-over-year decline and the lowest first-quarter shipments in four years,” according to the Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report from International Data Corporation (IDC).

Despite an 11.4 percent drop in shipments, Samsung led the market with a 20.1 percent market share, followed by Vivo at 17.7 percent.

Oppo was the only brand to register growth in shipments during the quarter, recording a market share of 17.6 percent.

Xiaomi’s shipments fell 41.1 percent to 5 million units, with its market share dropping to 16.4 percent in the reported quarter from 23.4 percent a year ago.

Realme’s shipments fell by more than half to 2.9 million units, with its market share falling from 16.4 percent in the corresponding quarter of 2022 to 9.4 percent in the March quarter of 2023.

“Consumer demand remained weak due to uncertain macroeconomic conditions and inventory levels were high due to high inventories in the second half of 2022,” IDC said.

The share of 5G smartphones rose to 45 percent from 31 percent a year ago. Growth in 5G smartphones was led by Samsung, which accounted for more than a quarter of shipments in the segment.

“5G smartphones continue to increase their penetration in the lower price segment and we can expect a strong 5G presence in the $150 (nearly Rs. 12,250) to $300 (nearly Rs. 24,500) segment in the second half of 2023 as the high-end 4G models exit the market,” said Upasana Joshi, Research Manager, Client Devices at IDC India.