Though Apple continued in the top-five, recording an 11.7 per cent sales growth, the year was a rough start for India’s smartphone maket. Shipments dropped 9.7% YoY in January 2025.
India’s smartphone shipments saw a 9.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decline in January 2025, totalling 11.1 million units, as reported by the International Data Corporation (IDC). This decline follows a period of sluggish growth in the final quarter of 2024 (Q4CY24), which saw a 3 per cent drop and a shipment of 36 million units.
Apple has maintained a strong presence in the market, securing a position in the top five brands for five consecutive months, with a market share of 11.4 per cent, and experiencing an 11.7 per cent increase in shipments.
The four other brands that continue to dominate the market are vivo, Samsung, OPPO, and realme. vivo topped the list with a 16.1 per cent share, slightly up from 15.8 per cent the previous year. Samsung, however, has seen a sharp decline from 18.0 per cent to 14.4 per cent, while OPPO gained traction, increasing from 11.0 per cent to 11.6 per cent. realme, on the other hand, maintained its presence with a slight dip to 10.4 per cent.
However, in terms of shipments, Samsung suffered the most, with a 19.5 per cent YoY plunge. Meanwhile, vivo’s shipments fell by 8.1 per cent YoY, and realme’s by 5.3 per cent. Besides Apple, only OPPO saw a positive sales growth of 5.9 per cent. The Others” category, which includes smaller brands, has faced a 16.4 per cent slump.
Aditya Rampal, a senior analyst at IDC, held surplus inventory and low consumer demand responsible for this performance. “Despite numerous premium and mid-range product launches at the start of 2025, the shipment was unable to match the high growth seen in January 2024,” he noted.
The overall market contraction highlights the ongoing struggles within India’s smartphone sector, which is grappling with reduced consumer spending and market saturation.
