Samsung’s premium phones replaced faster, OnePlus used for longer: Counterpoint survey

A majority of potential premium smartphone buyers in India plan a replacement in next 12 months and Samsung users replace their smartphones faster than average while OnePlus users hold onto their devices for a longer time, said a new survey by Counterpoint Research on Wednesday.

According to Counterpoint Research's "India Premium Smartphone Consumer Survey", replacement cycles among the potential premium smartphone buyers (who are currently using a smartphone priced above ₹20,000 or roughly $280) is around 25 months.

"The Indian market has been growing at a healthy rate. There is a close competition between Samsung and OnePlus in the premium segment. Almost six out of 10 Samsung users are interested in replacing their smartphone within the next year. About four out of every 10 users of OnePlus plan to buy a new smartphone in the next year," Pavel Naiya, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research, said in a statement.

While Apple struggles to gain momentum in the premium segment in India, Chinese brands like OPPO, Huawei and Vivo are trying hard to break into the segment.

The market research firm surveyed upper-mid and premium segment (priced above ₹20,000) Android smartphone users. The survey included 800 respondents from top cities in India.

One in every five respondents is interested in spending more than ₹60,000 (roughly $870) and around eight per cent of these respondents indicated their interest in spending ₹80,000 (roughly $1,150) or more.

"In-display fingerprint, facial recognition, dual or more cameras, and AI capabilities came up as key features, where almost four out of every 10 respondents thought that these are a 'must have' in their future premium smartphones.

"Longer battery life along with fast charging, higher memory storage, new designs, and multiple cameras are the other key features which will influence future purchase decisions," Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research said.

"Punch hole displays and foldable displays are yet to make any significant impact on consumers' minds in India."