Vivo beats Samsung, grabs second spot in Indian smartphone market
Vivo has surpassed Samsung to become the second-biggest smartphone company in India in the last quarter of 2019, according to market research firm Counterpoint. The Chinese smartphone maker captured a 21% market share to grab the second spot for the first time in India's smartphone market. Notably, Xiaomi maintained its top spot in the country with an impressive 27% market share.
Vivo grew a stunning 134% YoY in Q4 2019
According to Counterpoint, Vivo grew 76% YoY in 2019 and 134% YoY in Q4 2019, because of the good performance of its budget-friendly smartphones. In Q4 2019, Samsung's shipments remained almost flat as it slid to the third position with a 19% market hold. Finally, with 12% and 8% percent market share, OPPO and Realme took the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.
Apple became one of the fastest-growing brands in Q4 2019
Separately, Apple became one of the fastest-growing brands in India in Q4 2019, capturing a 2% market share with a YoY growth of 41%. The company's growth was propelled by the strong demand for the iPhone Xr and iPhone 11.
Realme recorded a phenomenal yearly growth of 255%
In 2019, Realme managed to command a 10% market share (3% share in 2018) to record a phenomenal YoY growth of 255%. In this period, Vivo grew by 76% while OPPO grew by 28%. As per Counterpoint, Realme's growth was driven "by an aggressive go-to-market strategy that involved launching several industry-first features with a strong design language."
In 2019, India surpassed US to become second-largest smartphone market
Meanwhile, the Indian smartphone market grew 7% YoY in 2019, surpassing the US for the first time to become the second-largest smartphone market globally. The total shipments rose to 158 million, thanks to the expansion of Chinese brands in the country.
