It is no secret that Chinese smartphone brands have gained traction in the past decade. Huawei is number two in the general smartphone market while other Chinese brands are gaining market share now and then, and the traditional behemoth – Samsung – is feeling the pinch.
Samsung, for years, has been the largest smartphone brand in the world and in many countries. In India, Xiaomi dethroned Samsung in Q4 2017, and the situation hasn’t changed ever since. After two years as a runner up, Samsung has been surpassed by vivo in terms of market share.
According to Counterpoint Research, Xiaomi is still the number one smartphone brand in India while vivo now ranks second, and Samsung closes the top 3 in Q4 2019 market share.
Xiaomi recorded a 7 percent year-over-year growth in Q4, now controlling 27 percent of the market.
Vivo recorded a tremendous growth in the quarter under review with a 132 percent year-over-year. The Chinese company finished the quarter with a market share of 21 percent in the Indian market, up from 10 percent in a comparable quarter the previous year.
Vivo’s increased sales have been attributed to its Z and U series of mid-range phones.
Samsung, on the other hand, experienced stalled growth in year over year in the same quarter.
Samsung revamped A, and M series are still yet to lure more customers to join the bandwagon in India, which were meant to fight cheap Chinese alternatives in the budget segment. Counterpoint notes that only “a couple of models did well” – A50 and M30. The same momentum is yet to be seen across the board.
Counterpoint points out that in the general 2019 market share overview, Samsung is still second behind Xiaomi but has recorded a 5 percent drop year-over-year.
Xiaomi has improved by 5 percent while vivo has recorded a massive 76 percent year-over-year growth.
Although the general smartphone market has been slowing down, the same can’t be said for the Indian market, which still shows strong signs of growth.
