More than 50 per cent of India's smartphone market controlled by just two companies

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According to the latest data released by International Data Corporation (IDC), there were just two companies in 2018, namely Xiaomi and Samsung that controlled around 50 per cent share of the Indian smartphone market.

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A report by IDC's Asia/Pacific Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker suggests that Xiaomi went on to surpass Samsung to become the market leader in 2018 with 28.9 per cent share in the Indian smartphone market that had shipped almost 142.3 million units last year with Samsung placing second with a 22.4 per cent share.

In 2018, other companies like Vivo had 14.2 per cent share, OPPO had 10.2 per cent share and Transsion (6.4 per cent) were the other three brands that found a place in the list of top five smartphone brands in India.

Samsung in 2017 had a 24.7 per cent market share, while Xiaomi had a 20.9 per cent share in the market.

Leaving Samsung aside, four out of five smartphone brands are based in China.

Upasana Joshi, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India, said in a statement, "Amongst the big highlights of 2018 were the online-focused brands that drove the share of the online channel to an all-time high of 38.4 per cent in 2018".

Xiaomi India Managing Director Manu Kumar Jain responded to this report by giving the credit to the team and love from Mi Fans.

Manu Kumar Jain tweeted, "Mi Fans! Thank you for your love and support," adding that in the fourth quarter of 2018, the company emerged as 54 per cent bigger than the second brand.

Apple has witnessed a lower than expected sales rate of iPhones in some emerging markets, especially China that couldn't make a mark in the Indian market too.

Joshi added that OnePlus had also emerged as a leader in $500-$700 segment thanks to OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T, while in the super premium segment of $700+, Samsung went on to surpass Apple for the top position thanks to its Galaxy S9 series.

IDC said that with government initiatives to push local manufacturers in India, 2018 saw further duty hikes on mobile phone components, saying that wakened rupee added to the challenges.

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