Chinese smartphone shipments accounted for 46% of the overall Indian market during Q4 2016, with shipments doubling over the same quarter last year, research firm IDC said in its Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report. The Chinese competition has subsequently affected the domestic market: share of smartphone shipments from domestic vendors decreased to just 19% during the same quarter. Earlier in Q1 2016, IDC said that Chinese brands shipments were growing 28% QoQ. The report added that “this is the first time when none of the homegrown (smartphone) vendors were able to make their position in top five (list).” Cheap pricing over user experience and focus on 3G portfolio helped Chinese brands dominate during the quarter, added IDC. China-based brands have also entered the feature phone segment: Transsion Group, a Chinese phone maker, entered the Indian market with its ‘Itel’ feature phone brand in Q4 2016. The brand achieved second spot in shipments in the overall mobile phone industry during the quarter, outpacing domestic vendors. Shipments by category Overall, the Indian smartphone market shipped 25.8 million units during Q4 2016, down 20.3% from the previous quarter. Shipments declined due to demonetization and seasonal factors leading to lower consumer sales in November and December. During FY2016, the Indian smartphone industry 109.1 million units, registering a marginal growth of 5.2% annually. Around 31.2% of smartphone shipments were made online in Q4 2016, with Chinese brands like Xiaomi and Lenovo accounting for more than half of the segment’s volume. Online shipments grew 10% annually…
