India smartphone market to grow 10% in 2021 amid 5G push

Even though the 5G network will not be available until late 2022 or early 2023 in the country, smartphone vendors like OnePlus and realms are bullish on launching 5G-ready devices for the masses, according to market research firm CMR.

New Delhi: The smartphone market in India will potentially grow over 10 per cent (year-on-year) in 2021 and 5G shipments are expected to grow tenfold to cross 30 million units this year, a new report said on Friday.

Even though the 5G network will not be available until late 2022 or early 2023 in the country, smartphone vendors like OnePlus and realms are bullish on launching 5G-ready devices for the masses, according to market research firm CMR.

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“In 2021 and beyond, the smartphone industry would gain strength, driven by feature phone users transiting to entry-level smartphones, and new, powerful offerings across price tiers, including 5G-capable smartphone offerings at mid to lower price tiers, including in the Rs 20,000 price band,” said Anand Priya Singh, Analyst-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR.

OnePlus was the highest contributor in the 5G smartphone segment in 2020, capturing 58 per cent market share, followed by Apple at 20 per cent with its iPhone 12 series.

Earlier this month, realme launched X7 5G and X7 Pro 5G smartphones in India as the company aims to become a “5G leader” in the country.

“As a consequence of the supply chain and geo-political challenges, 2020 saw a gradual realignment of smartphone supply chains. Enterprises seeking to de-risk themselves from China looked at emerging alternatives, including India. As we move forward, we believe India’s smartphone manufacturing ecosystem will get a fillip, and gain strength in the post-pandemic future,” Anand said in a statement.

The significant decline in the smartphone shipments in the H1 2020 encouraged the brands to come back strongly in H2 2020.

The smartphone shipments exceeded 100 million for the first time in H2 2020, backed by aggressive marketing and attractive offers or discounts during the festive season and beyond.

“Smartphone brands were able to turn around the story in H2 2020. As a consequence, the smartphone market saw a mere 3 per cent decline for the full year,” said Amit Sharma, Analyst-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR.