Indian smartphone shipment hit 50 million record in Q3 2020

The smartphone shipment in India touched a record mark of 50 million units in the third quarter of 2020. This marks an overall growth of 8% since the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown brought the market to a standstill in the first half of the year.

As per a new report by Canalys, this marks an all-time record for smartphone shipments in a single quarter in India. While Xiaomi remained the market leader growing 9% to ship 13.1 million units, Samsung regained the second spot with 10.2 million units. Its shipments are up 7% compared to the previous quarter wherein Vivo took the second place.

As per the report, Samsung’s aggressive product portfolio and pricing strategy in the low-end paid off. Vivo, on the other hand, stood third growing 19% to ship 8.8 million smartphones, while Realme breathed down its neck with 8.7 million units shipped. Similarly, Oppo completed the top five shipping 6.1 million units.

“While almost all vendors have shown positive shipment growth, the true winners are the online channels, who have been buoyed with a huge influx of devices ahead of the festive season. Ongoing sales at Amazon and Flipkart are a clear indication that despite the economic downturn, India’s penchant for a good smartphone, and a good bargain, remains intact,” said Canalys Analyst Adwait Mardikar.

As far as Apple is concerned, the report noted that the iPhone maker regained momentum in India in the third quarter of the year with a double-digit growth to nearly 800 thousand units. “Apple is finally paying attention to India...It has opened a direct online store, giving it several new angles in its go-to-market strategy, such as utilizing device trade-ins to provide purchase incentives, or bundling AirPods with iPhones to make them more appealing,” said Canalys Research Director, Rushabh Doshi.