Vivo is now India's top-selling smartphone brand
What's the story
The Indian smartphone market grew 1-5% YoY, with shipments between 153-156 million units in 2024, according to market research firms Counterpoint Research and Canalys.
Although the overall growth rate slowed down as the year progressed due to reduced consumer demand and macroeconomic challenges, revenue saw a significant 9% YoY increase.
This was primarily driven by consumer interest in high-end 5G and AI-enabled smartphones.
Counterpoint reports Vivo as India's top-selling smartphone brand, with Apple leading in market value.
Market leaders
Vivo leads in volume
In 2024, Vivo became the market leader with a 19% volume share, up from 17% last year.
Xiaomi held on to the second place with an unchanged 17% share, while Samsung's share slipped to the third spot from 18% to 16%.
Meanwhile, Apple dominated the market in value with a whopping 23% share despite a slight decline from last year's 24%.
Growth insights
Fastest-growing brands and 5G smartphone penetration
Nothing was the fastest-growing brand in 2024, with an insane 577% year-on-year growth.
Motorola also witnessed impressive growth, with 82% YoY growth in 2024 and doubling its shipments from 2022.
The penetration of 5G smartphones also hit a high of 78% in the same year, owing to the availability of affordable entry-level smartphones with these advanced chipsets.
Chipset dominance
MediaTek leads India's smartphone chipset market
MediaTek ruled the Indian smartphone chipset market with a whopping 52% share, followed by Qualcomm at 25%, according to Counterpoint's data.
In the last quarter of 2024, Vivo (20%), Xiaomi (16%), and Samsung (15%) occupied the top three slots, while OPPO (14%) and Apple (11%) rounded off the top five.
Research Analyst Shubham Singh said Vivo's growth was driven by its strong offline network and support from its sub-brand iQOO.
Market trends
Premium smartphones now account for 1-in-five shipments in India
The trend of value premiumization stayed strong throughout 2024, leading to the highest-ever revenue in the Indian smartphone market.
Premium smartphones now account for one in every five shipments in India.
Counterpoint Research and Techarc expect this low single-digit percentage growth trend to continue into 2025.
Techarc Chief Analyst Faisal Kawoosa noted smartphone brands will likely focus on CMF and features like AI, long-lasting battery to drive device sales.