Canalys: India saw record smartphone shipments in Q3
In these unusual times with people confined at home and losing their jobs, the smartphone market goes at different paces in different places of the world. The latest numbers from Canalys show that after a huge drop in Q2 the Indian scene rebounded to reach a new record for shipments in Q3 2020 – 50 million.
Xiaomi remained on top for the 9th consecutive quarter, while all five Top 5 companies recorded annual growth in volume. Samsung has wrestled the second place back from vivo, with Realme sitting just behind it in fourth.
According to Canalys representatives, the lockdown forced people to refrain from big spendings for travel or luxury goods – instead they decided to stick to smartphones that provide connection, entertainment and education from the comfort of your own place.
Apple managed to post double-digit growth but still only moved 800,000 units, the company still unable to properly figure out the Indian market. However with the new four-strong iPhone 12 lineup Apple has as good a chance of finally achieving meaningful sales in the country as it ever had.
| Company | Q3 2020 shipments (in million) |
Q3 2020 Market share |
Q3 2019 shipments (in million) |
Q3 2019 Market share |
Annual growth |
| Xiaomi | 13.1 | 26.1% | 12 | 25.9% | +9% |
| Samsung | 10.2 | 20.4% | 9.5 | 20.6% | +7% |
| vivo | 8.8 | 17.6% | 7.4 | 16% | +19% |
| Realme | 8.7 | 17.4% | 7.1 | 15.3% | +23% |
| Oppo | 6.1 | 12.1% | 5.7 | 12.3% | +6% |
| Others | 3.1 | 6.3% | 4.5 | 9.8% | -31% |
| Total | 50 | 100% | 46.2 | 100% | +8% |
Canalys has also paid attention to another issue for the Indian market with the tensions between the country and its northern neighbor China. While there are calls for boycott and companies have been conservative with marketing spend, sales of phones from Chinese companies comprised 76% of all shipments – 2% or 4 million devices more than Q3 2019.
