xiaomi agains top phone in market

Xiaomi on top, Samsung second in India’s smartphone market, according to IDC data

IDC Q2 2018: Xiaomi was the leading smartphone vendor in the second quarter of 2018, ahead of Samsung, according to numbers shared by IDC

Xiaomi is on top once again, according to IDC, ahead of Samsung and other players in India’s smartphone market.

Xiaomi was the leading smartphone vendor in the second quarter of 2018, according to numbers shared by research firm International Data Corporation (IDC). This report come even as other research firms like Counterpoint and Canalys have put Samsung on top in India’s smartphone market, ahead of the Chinese player.

However, IDC’s data shows that Xiaomi remains number one with four of its smartphones being the top four in terms of shipments in the quarters. These are Redmi 5A, Redmi Note 5 Pro, Redmi Note 5 and Redmi 5, which also accounted for 26 per cent of overall smartphone shipments

According to IDC, the Indian smartphone market saw an overall healthy growth of 20% in the second quarter of the year with a total of 33.5 million units being shipped. The reason for such strong growth is the slew of online exclusive launches and strong shipments by offline heavy vendors, notes the firm.

But the market is “seeing rapid consolidation at the top end”, says IDC. “The top 5 vendors made up 79% of the smartphone market in 2Q18, marginalizing smaller brands,” said Upasana Joshi, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India.

Also read: OnePlus tops India’s premium smartphone market above Apple, Samsung

Xiaomi is India’s top smartphone vendor, Samsung number two

Coming to individual vendors, Xiaomi saw nearly 10 million shipments, and controls 29 per cent market share. According to IDC data, Xiaomi saw 107.6 per cent growth compared to last year. Data from IDC also showed that Xiaomi contributed more than 56 per cent of the shipments in online space, and had 33 per cent shipments in the offline channel.

The growth in offline is not surprising given Xiaomi has evolved from being an online heavy player to widening its offline presence in the last year or so. In terms of individual devices, Redmi 5A, Redmi Note 5 Pro, Redmi Note 5 and Redmi 5, were the phones that contributed to Xiaomi’s growth.