The latest research from Canalys shows that Indian smartphone manufacturers took advantage of strong demand during the holiday season to drive shipments in the fourth quarter to 38.9 million units, a sharp rebound of 20% year-on-year. Samsung maintained its absolute leadership in the fourth quarter of 2023, with a market share of 20% and shipments of 7.6 million units. Vivo ranks third with shipments of 7 million units, and realme and OPPO (excluding OnePlus) rank among the top five with shipments of 4.5 million and 3.7 million units respectively.

In 2023, the Indian smartphone market remained stable, with overall shipments of 148.6 million units, a slight decrease of 2%. While suppliers faced inventory challenges, little improvement in inflation and volatile demand for much of the year, the Indian market showed resilience thanks to rising consumer confidence in the second half.

Sanyam Chaurasia, senior analyst at Canalys, said: "In 2023, it has been proven that the growth in investment in the mainline retail space will not only benefit suppliers, but also stabilize the entire market. Brands such as Xiaomi and realme had the highest offline shipment share in the fourth quarter. Xiaomi has democratized its product portfolio, with offline and online channels contributing equally, becoming the quarter with the highest offline channel contribution. Its R The edmi125G and the recently launched Redmi13C series each exceeded one million shipments, contributing to its offline share. Likewise, realme's device shipments contributed equally to the channel, with the Narzo series driven by online e-commerce channels, while the rest of the product portfolio continues to dominate offline. To further enhance its position in the high-end market, the brand should continue to focus on enhancing the confidence of channel partners. "

Chaurasia said: "The high-end market has achieved strong growth thanks to easy financing options, retailer incentive schemes and rising disposable income. With the arrival of Diwali in November 2023, Apple got the opportunity to promote the latest iPhone15 series during the festive sales, which contributed more than 50% to its shipments in the fourth quarter. In addition, the previous generation iPhone14 and Discounts on iPhone 13 models during online sales also helped Apple's shipments hit a new high, allowing it to capture 7% of the market in India. Similarly, Samsung has set aggressive retail targets for its high-end Galaxy S23 series to drive growth in the high-end market. At the same time, Samsung's latest Galaxy S23FE launched in the fourth quarter also drove shipment growth."After entering the 'election year' of 2024, various indicators of the consumer market have improved, the inflation rate is controllable, interest rates are stable, and the prospects for a stable government are clear. Canalys expects the Indian smartphone market to post mid-single-digit growth in 2024, driven by affordable 5G and a pandemic-era replacement cycle. But the biggest challenge for suppliers this year will be managing rising material costs.