Samsung has always relied on India as a key growth driver for its global mobile business, unable to challenge Apple in the US market or gain relevance in China. Despite maintaining its regional crown in India, Samsung faces stiff competition from Xiaomi, Vivo, and Realme, who have shown significant growth in their sales figures.
Xiaomi, Vivo, and Realme have seen impressive jumps of 29%, 14%, and 17% respectively in their Indian market share between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024. While Samsung’s own progress of 6% is decent, it pales in comparison to its competitors’ growth rates. Although Realme currently holds the fifth position in the market, Xiaomi and Vivo are just one percent behind Samsung.
The Galaxy S24 family continues to be a strong seller for Samsung, potentially helping the company maintain its leading position in India with future price drops. Xiaomi’s resurgence has been driven by models like the Redmi 13C 5G and Redmi Note 13 5G, but Samsung still holds a significant advantage over its rivals in terms of profit margins.
Apple and Motorola are also making strides in India, with Apple experiencing “high double-digit growth” thanks to the iPhone 15 model. Motorola is another American brand gaining traction in the Indian market. It remains to be seen if these rapidly growing brands or newcomers like Infinix will disrupt the top five vendors’ standings.
In fourth place, Oppo (excluding OnePlus) reported a drop in sales between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024 after reducing new releases in the mid-high price ranges. This strategy did not yield successful results for Oppo.
Overall, while Samsung continues to lead the Indian smartphone market, competition from Xiaomi, Vivo, Apple, Motorola, and other brands is heating up. The coming quarters will be crucial in determining whether Samsung can maintain its dominant position or if a new champion will emerge in this dynamic and competitive landscape.
