Luxury smartphone sales have witnessed a significant jump in India in the last few quarters with disposable incomes on the rise due to the premiumisation trend, industry experts said on Tuesday. The shipments for Rs 1 lakh and above smartphones grew by 20 per cent YoY and 10 per cent YoY for Q1 2024 and Q2 2024, respectively, said Counterpoint Research. Shipments in the Rs 1 lakh and above segment accounted for just over 1 per cent of the market in the first half of this year.
"The share is expected to increase slightly in the second half of this year with the arrival of Samsung Galaxy Foldables and the new Apple iPhone series," Tarun Pathak, Director, Counterpoint Research, told IANS.
In 2021, luxury or super-premium smartphones witnessed 14 per cent growth YoY in the country. While this growth jumped to 96 per cent in 2022, it stood at 53 per cent in 2023 over last year. Samsung led the super premium smartphone market with 52% share in 2023, followed by Apple at 46% share.
According to Prabhu Ram, VP-Industry Research Group, CyberMedia Research (CMR), the premiumisation wave in the Indian smartphone market is gathering greater momentum. "Consumers are increasingly prioritising smartphones devices that not only offer superior specifications and features but also serve as lifestyle statements," he told IANS.
According to him, the market insights point out that uber-premium smartphones costing Rs 1 lakh and above enjoyed stellar growth of 80 per cent year-on-year in the country during the first half of this year. Samsung led the market in terms of value with a 25 per cent share in the April-June quarter, followed by vivo and Apple. Meanwhile, Apple is poised to rebound in the subsequent quarter, buoyed by the recent price cuts across its entire range of iPhones.
In Q2 2024, 5G smartphone shipments in India touched an all-time high with a 77 percent share in the overall smartphone market, fuelled by their steadily falling ASPs.
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