Samsung captures India premium smartphone market in H1 2020

Riding on the success of its Galaxy A71 and A51 devices, Samsung grabbed the top position in the premium smartphone market (Rs 25,000-Rs 50,000) in India for the first six months this year, a new report said on Friday.

While the South Korean giant captured 37 per cent market share in H1 2020, Apple continued its impressive run in the premium segment, growing by 14 per cent (year-on-year) with 26 per cent market share in the country, according to the 'CMR India Mobile Handset Review Report'.

OnePlus was a distant third with 15 per cent market share in the premium segment in H1 2020.

"Owing to the pandemic, H1 2020 was a tough period for the overall smartphone industry in general, with multiple challenges. However, the premium smartphone segment was one of the least affected segments. In fact, the segment grew owing to strong consumer demand and good supply-side dynamics," said Anand Priya Singh, Analyst, Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR.

Overall, the smartphone shipments in the premium segment grew 18 per cent (YoY) in the country in H1 2020. This segment accounted for 5 per cent of the total smartphone shipments in the January-June period.

Samsung's domination of the overall premium smartphone segment was made possible through good supply side dynamics, attractive discounts and smart channel strategies.

Samsung Galaxy A71 was the star in this segment, contributing to 19 per cent in this segment.

For Apple, the iPhone 11 continued to garner good market response in the initial part of the year.

"On the other hand, the all-new iPhone SE 2020 is on track to repeat the exceptional performance of iPhone 11. It captured 8 per cent market share of the total premium smartphones shipped during Q2," the report mentioned.

According to the report, India's premium smartphone segment is potentially slated to grow 20 per cent (YoY) in H2 2020, with many new device offerings anticipated from various players in the festive season.

"Samsung and Apple will be in a dead heat in H2 2020, and potentially slated to garner 28-29 per cent market share each," the report said.

Beyond the incumbents, the new premium segment aspirants, including the likes of Xiaomi and OPPO will seek to shake the turf.

"In H1 2020, consumer demand in the premium smartphone segment continued to remain high, and, in fact, fuelled the market growth. This bodes well for H2 2020, and, especially, in the run-up to the all-important festive season," said Amit Sharma, Analyst, IIG, CMR.

Beyond the incumbents, aspirational premium brands will seek to make inroads into the premium segment, he added..