India smartphone grows 11 percent in 2021, Realme becomes the fastest growing brand

However, interestingly, Xiaomi managed to get a higher share in the premium segment this time, with a growth of 258 percent. The report says it considers devices priced above Rs 30,000 as premium. After Xiaomi, Samsung has secured the second spot in the market, with a share of 18 percent. However, it witnessed an 8 percent decline in shipments. Vivo is in the third spot as it managed to capture about 15 percent market share. Realme and OPPO are in fourth and fifth spots with 14 percent and 10 percent market share respectively. The former has remained the fastest growing brand in 2021 with a 20 percent YoY and captured the second spot in Q4 2021 for the first time. The Realme GT, Realme C, and Realme Narzo series favoured the growth for Realme.

Moving to 5G, the shipments registered 555 percent YoY growth in 2021. Vivo led the 5G smartphone shipments in 2021 with a 19 percent share. Samsung was in the top spot in Q4 2021. The South Korean giant also led the mid-range space with a 28 percent market share. It has also managed to grow its share by triple digits (388 percent) in the foldable category, which is slowly evolving into the mainstream.

The Cupertino giant has emerged as the fastest-growing brand in 2021 with a 108 percent year-on-year growth. It led the premium segment with a 44 percent market share and should see the growth improving as it gets aggressive in the country. Aggressive offers during the festive season, strong demand for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 and increased ‘Make in India’ capabilities drove high growth.

OnePlus has registered its highest ever shipments in India in 2021 and led the affordable premium segment priced between Rs 30,000 and Rs 45,000. It crossed the 5 million mark with 59 percent YoY growth. It is driven by the Nord series. Counterpoint notes that India’s smartphone market revenue crossed $38 billion in 2021 with 27 percent YoY growth.

Lastly, India’s overall feature phone market growth was flat in 2021, with a total of 86 million shipments. Itel led the feature phone market, taking 24 percent share followed by Lava, Samsung and Jio. Itel has been leading the feature phone market for the last two consecutive years.