Indian market is one of the biggest markets of smartphones and is booming to grow bigger everyday. Every mobile handset manufacturer is trying to put up their best to lure the users. Foreign giants like Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi, with all their strengths, are competing for maximum market share. But in a recent survey by Canalys, it becomes evident that the homegrown companies like Micromax, Lava and Karbonn have stole the show.
Report suggested that in total, 21.6 million smartphone were sold, registering a huge 90 percent surge when compared to last year. According to a report by Canalys, Micromax has become the first local firm to take the throne in the Indian smartphone market, ousting Samsung. This comes after a report saying that Samsung reported its first decline in sales worldwide in past three years. And its arch rival, Apple, has recorded a historical sales for the last quarter of 2014. Indian smartphone maker, Micromax, leaped ahead of South Korea’s Samsung, for the first time in the last quarter of 2014.
Micromax has bagged 22 percent of total market share ahead of Samsung’s 20 percent, said the report. Results from the report suggest that in the fourth quarter of 2014, 23 percent of the devices shipped were under the price range of $100 (around INR 6000), while 41 percent were in the bracket of $100 to $200 (around INR 6000 to INR 12000). These results suggests that the Indian users are shifting from the low-end to mid-level devices. And the incredible performance by Micromax can be partly credited to the fact that its flagship line of products has effectively targeted the $150 to $200 (INR 9000 to INR 12000) bracket. This makes Micromax the top choice for the users looking for smartphone experience. Also Micromax has been adamant to improve the appeal of its devices by imparting features like local language support in its Unite series of phones.
Other companies like Karbonn and Lava bagged third and fourth positions respectively. And no doubt we see budget cell phones being launched by these companies quite frequently. For them, catering to the local audience requirements has proved to be a successful strategy so far. Following the same path, Intex too is launching devices for the mid-range. Asus has also been spotted to do the same.
Considering the close gap between Samsung and Micromax, it will be interesting to see what bunny they pull out from their hats. And while companies like Karbonn and Lava are constantly gaining grounds, only the smartphone users are to benefit.
