The Indian premium smartphone market saw 20% year-on-year (YoY) growth in terms of volume in the year 2017 driven by the strong performance of phone maker companies – Apple and Oneplus, as per new reports said on Wednesday. The segment grew at an impressive rate of 28% by value in 2017, Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Counterpoint Research, wrote in a blog post.
In Quarter 4 2017, the Apple flagship iPhone X was the top model in the premium segment, holding 21% of the shipments, closely followed by the Chinese phone maker’s flagship OnePlus 5T at 17% and South Korean Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 holding the third spot at 8%.
“Although the segment is more crowded than a year ago, the top three brands, Apple, OnePlus and Samsung, still contribute to 94 percent of the overall premium market segment,” Pathak wrote in his blog post.
Apple managed to hold its place as the leader in the premium segment, capturing 47 percent share during the fourth quarter in 2017 and 38 percent for the entire year, strongly driven by large number of shipments of iPhone X and iPhone 7.
“However, demand for iPhone8 remained soft and, as a result, the overall Apple shipments in the premium segment declined by 31 percent YoY,” he also added.
OnePlus was the fastest growing brand (with over 343% growth) in the segment capturing 25% market share during Quarter 4 2017 and 19% for entire year 2017. The stats clearly state that because of the modern day facilities the company offers at a budget price, makes them number 2 in this segment.
Samsung was behind OnePlus at the third spot, as demands for its flagship Galaxy S8 and Note 8 remained strong among the techgeeks. But it faced tough competition from the arch rivals: Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone X.
“The growth of the Indian premium segment is a positive development for brands like Apple, OnePlus and Google looking to expand their presence in the world’s second-largest smartphone market,” Pathak further added.
The list of other notable brands which expanded to make their presence in the premium segment included phonemaker giants like Google, Xiaomi, LG and much hyped Nokia HMD.
As we’re moving forward, the premium segment is likely to see better growth, both in terms of volume and value in 2018, as more brands are likely to enter this much talked ‘premium’ segment.
“These include Oppo, Vivo, and Huawei, which have some of their best selling models in China already in this segment,” he added.
So, stay tuned to find out what happens next !