Samsung Smartphones Return to 1st Place in Indian Market

Samsung Electronics which had been dethroned by Xiaomi in the Indian smartphone market returned to the top spot in terms of market shares in the second quarter of this year.

According to market researcher Counterpoint Research on July 25, Samsung Electronics recorded a 29% market share in the smartphone market in India in the second quarter. Its market share eclipsed that of Xiaomi (28 percent). Xiaomi was followed by Vivo (12%), Oppo (10%) and Honor (3%). The five brands accounted for 82% of the entire Indian smartphone market. In the second quarter, the Indian smartphone market posted double-digit year-on-year growth.

The top five best selling smartphone models were the Xiaomi RedMe 5A, the Xiaomi RedMe Note 5 Pro, the Samsung Galaxy J6, the Xiaomi RedMe Note 5 and the Vivo Y71.

"The success of Samsung in the second quarter of this year was attributable to the newly launched Galaxy J series. In the second quarter, we launched multiple models of various prices that feature dual cameras and a facial recognition function among others," said Karn Chauhan, an analyst at Counterpoint Research. “Widespread off-line distribution and aggressive marketing helped us to recover our market share. The second half of this year will see a duel between Samsung and Xiaomi."

The budget Galaxy J series was a driving force behind raising Samsung’s share in the Indian smartphone market. Samsung Electronics said that the sales volume of the Galaxy J6 and Galaxy J8 exceeded two million units in about 60 days since their launches in the Indian market.