Samsung is facing tough times in many of its businesses. Its phones are up against strong competition from Apple and Chinese companies, and its chip-making business is losing a lot of money each quarter. When it comes to smartphones in India, there’s good news and bad news.
According to recent data from Counterpoint Research, Samsung has slipped to third place in how many phones it sells in India. In 2024, it sold less than it did the year before. In 2023, Samsung was number one with an 18% share of the market, but this year, it’s down to 16%. The term “market share” here means how many phones a company has sold.
Vivo now leads as the top-selling smartphone brand in India with a 19% share, followed by Xiaomi with 17%. OPPO and Realme come in fourth and fifth places.
However, looking at the money side, Samsung did better in 2024. Its share of the market value went up from 21% in 2023 to 22% in 2024. This shows that Samsung sold more expensive phones this year. Selling pricier phones means more profit for Samsung, bringing it very close to Apple in terms of money made from smartphone sales in India. Apple’s market value share went down from 24% to 23%.
Counterpoint Research notes, “Samsung’s high-end phones, especially the S series, did well, boosting its share in the luxury phone market.” In the last three months of 2024, Samsung’s sales share fell to 15%. Vivo sold 20% of all phones, Xiaomi 16%, OPPO 14%, and Apple 11%.
The total market value in India grew by 5% in the last quarter of 2024, driven by a demand for luxury phones and new models launched in December. There’s a chance Samsung could reclaim the top spot in early 2025 with the launch of the new Galaxy S25 series on February 3, 2025.
