Despite all the offers and discounts during the festive seasons, the Indian smartphone market saw a 10 per cent year-over-year decline with a total of 144 million shipments in 2022, according to a report by market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC). Interestingly, the iPhone 13 was the third most shipped device of 2022, a testament to how Apple tasted success in India thanks to the numerous bank offers and discounts. This is the lowest number of shipments that the market has seen since 2019 with the decline being more pronounced in the last leg of 2022. The fourth and final quarter of the year saw a 27 per cent fall in shipments. IDC is predicting that the Indian smartphone market will have a tough road ahead. “We should expect a rather difficult and elongated recovery for the smartphone market, as worries around rising prices and excess inventories will remain a concern through at least the first half of 2023. Vendors and channel partners need to rethink their plans for their entry-level portfolios, driving 5G device affordability with attractive trade-in programs and financing schemes," Navkendar Singh, Associate Vice President for Devices Research at IDC, said in a press statement. High inflation, increasing ASP One of the factors behind the dwindling consumer demand was high inflation, according to IDC. It also noted that both the online and offline channels saw a drastic drop in shipments. But the good news is that the average selling price (ASP) rose by 18 per cent to $224, a new record. This growth in the average selling price is something that other reports such as those from Counterpoint Research have also highlighted earlier. The converse is that the entry-level segment (sub-$150) continues to shrink and is down to 46 per cent of the market, compared to 54 per cent a year ago. IDC says that this can be attributed to the drop in new launches in this particular segment. Interestingly, more 5G phones were shipped in 2022 (50 million) and their ASP was down to $395 compared to $431 in 2021. This is another indicator that more affordable 5G phones were the norm in 2022, with the trend expected to grow further this year. Both MediaTek and Qualcomm-based smartphones also saw their market shares drop, while UNISOC's share doubled to 14 per cent. This growth for UNISOC was largely driven by realme and Samsung's offerings in the entry-level 4G segment. The segments that gained the most in India were the mid-premium and premium price segments of$300-500 and $500+ which saw 20 per cent and 55 per cent growth respectively. Apple maintained its lead with a 60 per cent share in the premium segment. The Counterpoint report had also said that the iPhone 13 was the top smartphone model for the year. IDC Smartphone Market India 2022 Report: Individual Vendors Xiaomi (21.0 per cent market share in 2022) maintained its lead during the fourth quarter, but it had a “tough year,” with a lean entry-level portfolio and continued dependency on online channels for sales. Other reports have put Xiaomi down to number three. Samsung (18.1 per cent) followed closely with a diversified portfolio across price bands and channels and the company led the 5G segment. vivo (15.9 per cent) came in third with well-managed inventories. Oppo climbed to the fourth position overtaking Realme and this growth was driven by the affordable A series. Meanwhile, realme slipped to number five owing to high inventory from the previous quarter.
