The smartphone market in India achieved a record 162 million shipments in 2021, growing 12 per cent in 2020, a new report revealed.
After a tough start to the year, due to the second wave of Covid-19, India recovered strongly in the second half, reports market research firm Canalys.
"Thanks to the vaccination rollout, market reopening, and pent-up demand, smartphone shipments reached all-time highs for the full-year. Growth is expected to continue in 2022, driven by both replacement demand and new customers migrating to smartphones," Sanyam Chaurasia, Analyst Canalys said in a statement.
Following a strong comeback in Q3, smartphone vendors shipped 44.5 million devices in Q4 for 2 per cent growth, despite a challenging supply chain.
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Xiaomi was the leader, shipping 9.3 million units and maintaining its 21 per cent market share. Samsung came second with 8.5 million units for a 19 per cent share.
For the first time realme climbed to third place in India, with a 49 per cent year-on-year increase in volume that reached 7.6 million shipments. The fourth and fifth place were taken by Vivo and OPPO, with 5.6 million and 4.9 million units respectively.
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"Overall, India will see upward momentum towards future-proof technologies, with smartphones being at the core of the digital ecosystem and growing ever-more essential to the daily lives of Indian citizens," Chaurasia added.