Apple is posing a serious challenge to Samsung’s dominance in the premium segment. According to a report by Canalys, Samsung’s market share for devices priced over $300 (Rs. 20,000) dropped from 66% in Q1 2015, to 41% in the same quarter this year. On the other hand, Apple’s market share grew from 11% to 29%. In addition, Apple was the second fastest growing smartphone manufacturer in India during Q1 2016 with a 56% increase in shipments. Lenovo was the fastest growing smartphone vendor with a 63% increase in shipments.
As per the report, Lenovo grew the most due to its value-for-money handsets and offline channel strategy. For Apple, Canalys Mobility Analyst, Wilmer Ang said that the company is “outperforming the overall market in India, and still has great growth potential. It was noted that successive price cuts to the iPhone 5s made it the most popular Apple device on the market. However, Ang said that the success of the iPhone 5s has more to do with the affordability of a premium brand than preference for smaller phones.
It was also noted in the report that the overall smartphone market in India grew by 12% year on year with 24.4 million units shipping in Q1 2016. As per the report, the top five smartphone vendors in the country remained the same with Samsung still on top, followed by Micromax, Intex, Lenovo, and Lava. Meanwhile, Microsoft, BlackBerry, Sony, and LG were the biggest losers during Q1 2016 as the market shifted towards low-cost and value-for-money smartphones.