Samsung expands presence in India smartphone market

Samsung remains the second-largest brand for India's smartphone shipments with 52 percent on-year growth driven by its focus on the budget segment with the new M02 series and multiple other launches

Seoul: Samsung Electronics has expanded its presence in the Indian smartphone market in the first quarter of the year on the back of multiple new handsets, a report showed Tuesday, as the South Korean tech giant aims to fend off challenges from Chinese players.

Samsung represented 20 per cent of the smartphone shipments in India in the first quarter, up from 16 per cent a year earlier, according to market researcher Counterpoint Research.

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Among the top five brands, Samsung posted the highest on-year growth in smartphone shipments in the first quarter.

“Samsung remains the second-largest brand for India’s smartphone shipments with 52 percent on-year growth driven by its focus on the budget segment with the new M02 series and multiple other launches,” the market researcher said.

“It refreshed its A-series with the A32, A52 and A72, and the M-series with the M12. It also launched its latest flagship Galaxy S21 series earlier than its normal launch period.”

The company remained in the runner-up spot in the Indian smartphone market but managed to narrow the gap with top player Xiaomi, whose market share declined to 26 per cent from 31 percent a year earlier.

Samsung was the only non-Chinese brand in the top five. Vivo came in third with 16 per cent, followed by realme and OPPO with 11 per cent each.