India smartphone shipments dip 11% in Q3, Apple’s iPhone 13 emerges as leader in the chart

India’s smartphone shipments declined 11 percent YoY to just over 45 million units in Q3 2022-23 (July-September), according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service. The YoY decline, which is the first ever for a Q3, can be attributed to the high base last year due to the pent-up demand during Q3 2021-22, as well as lower consumer demand in the entry-tier and budget segments in Q3 ended September 2022. Apple has achieved its largest market share of 5% in India. The company has gained 40 percent of the market share of premium smartphones, the research says.

India Smartphone Shipments Show YoY Q3 Decline, iPhone Model Tops India Shipment Chart

Last year’s iPhone 13 has become the best-selling phone in India as per a Quarter 3 analysis by Counterpoint Research. This is also the first time an iPhone has topped the smartphone shipment in India. Meanwhile, the overall shipments for Q3 have declined.

However, the report reveals that the overall shipments declined by 11% YoY with a total of 54 million units only in the July-September quarter. It is said that the reason for the decrease in numbers is due to the high base last year and lower demand for the entry-tier and budget phones in Q3, 2022. Almost all brands were impacted by the lower-than-expected shipments but the budget segment was the most affected.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Senior Research Analyst Prachir Singh said, “Consumer demand started increasing in August and peaked in the last week of September during the festive sales, especially in the mid-tier and premium segments. However, as the market exited Q2 2022 with high inventory, and there was modest demand in the entry-tier and budget segments, we saw less than expected shipments during Q3 2022. Almost all the brands were impacted, especially in the entry-tier and budget segments. The unfavourable macroeconomic conditions will continue to affect the Indian smartphone market in Q4 2022 as well, especially after Diwali. However, we may witness a demand uptick during the year-end sales.”

India’s mobile handset market (including both smartphones and feature phones) declined 15% YoY in Q3 2022. The feature phone market registered a decline of 24% YoY due to adverse macroeconomic conditions continuing to impact the bottom-of-the-pyramid users. itel led India’s feature phone market in Q3 2022 with a 28% share. itel has been the top feature phone brand for almost three years in a row now.

Data shows that in Q3 2022, Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi was the market leader in India. But due to lack of customers in the entry market, the company’s shipments fell 19% YoY. Xiaomi was the leading 5G smartphone brand in Q3 2022 in the sub-20,000 price range, it said. Vivo and Samsung retained their positions in second and third place, respectively. Samsung was the only smartphone manufacturer among the top five to record annual growth,