Per Framingham, MA-based IDC or International Data Corporation’s Asia/Pacific Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, India smartphone market shipped 142.3 million units in 2018, 14.5% year-on-year growth.
Upasana Joshi, associate research manager, Client Devices, IDC India, adds:
–> Shipments of the online-exclusive portfolios of Xiaomi, Honor, Realme, Asus, OnePlus among others, further fueled this growth, resulting in a year-on-year growth of 47.3% in 4Q 2018 for the online channel,
–> Yet, offline remains the largest channel for mobile phone distribution in India and is crucial for the long-term success for any brand in India.
–> The premium end of the market, above $500, outpaced other price segments in 2018 with 43.9% growth, though it constitutes only a 3% share of the overall smartphone market. China’sOnePlus emerged as the leader in $500-$700 segment on the back of the OnePlus 6 and the newly-launched OnePlus 6T. In the super premium segment of $700+, Samsung surpassed Apple for the top position with its Galaxy S9 series.
–> The feature phone market, which makes up 56 % of the total mobile phone market clocked 181.3 million-unit shipments in 2018, with 10.6% YoY growth.
Regarding the forecast for 2019, Navkendar Singh, associate research director, Client Devices & IPDS, IDC India, says, ” In 2019, we will see improvements in design like thinner bezels, eliminated notches, hole-punch screens, and increased promotions around three or four rear cameras, of which the utilitarian factor remains for – bokeh, wide angle, portraits, among others. We might also see innovations like on-device AI for superior video and photography experiences enabled going forward.”
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
