India’s smartphone market is one of the most exciting in the world. Every other day, another smartphone model is released in India. It is perhaps the most prolific mobile phone market in the world. Which is why a list of the top 5 smartphone brands in India is exciting.
Unlike what obtains in the US smartphone market, where there is a duopoly, the Indian smartphone market is a more intense and fierce space, with brands nibbling at one another’s ankles for consumers’ money.
The Top 5 Smartphone Brands in India
Xiaomi 23%
It has been clear for years that Xiaomi isn’t playing. In India, the brand and its sub-brands, Redmi and POCO, are at the top of the hill. Together, they have 23% of the country’s smartphone market.
Samsung 17%
Samsung isn’t the world’s largest Android phone maker by mistake. The brand worked hard to achieve that, and even here in India, they have a strong showing in 2nd place. Xiaomi cannot afford to rest on its oars, otherwise it will lose 1st place to Samsung in a heartbeat.
The company’s new user interface, One UI, is solid. And their new mid-level phones offer better value for money. Samsung is not going anywhere.
Vivo 15%
Vivo. Vivo. This is the brand that released 8 new models in January 2022 alone – all in India. They are definitely serious about rising further up the table. They are currently tied with Realme and so have their work cut out for them. No wonder they are churning out those phone models so fast.
Realme 15%
Realme started out as a sub-brand of OPPO, but was eventually spin-off in 2010 as a standalone brand under the same parent company. And in India, they are kicking OPPO’s ass. Not that their parent company, BBK Electronics, cares. It actually looks like this is the plan. Why?
Realme produces more budget-style phones, while OPPO plays at the higher end. In India, budget handsets are bae. Xiaomi is Kling it mostly thanks to its Redmi range of budget products. Samsung and Vivo are doing the same. And that is exactly what Realme is doing to earn it a seat among the top 5 smartphone brands in India.
OPPO 10%
At the number 5 spot is OPPO, Realme’s sister brand. And it is a big deal that this brand is able to secure a spot here, considering how many of its smartphones are priced. Pricing aside, OPPO makes solid Android phones and has been pushing hard, so this is a well deserved spot.
That is it. Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo, Realme and OPPO are the top 5 smartphone brands in India as at January 2022. How will the full year play out? We don’t know. But the Indian smartphone is so vibrant that it can be anyone’s game at the end of the day.
Outside of the top 5 table, we have other brands like Apple, Micromax, Lava, Motorola, Nokia, OnePlus, TECNO, Infinix, and itel, making up the remaining 20% market share, and all struggling for dominance and looking to rise to the top.