Samsung leads Xiaomi in Q2 with 29% market share: Counterpoint

According to a new report by research firm Counterpoint, Samsung has managed to take the lead over Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi in Q2 2018 with a 29 percent market share.

Counterpoint suggests that the strong performance of models such as Galaxy J6, Galaxy J2 2018 and Galaxy J4 can be attributed to its success.

While Xiaomi recorded its highest ever shipments in India during Q2 2018.

The growth can be attributed to its strong product and supply chain strategy which allowed it to launch products with a longer shelf life.

Karn Chauhan, Research Analyst said: "The success of Samsung during the quarter can be attributed to its refreshed J series as it launched the most number of models as compared to any brand across multiple price points during the quarter."

Additionally, the strong offline distribution and aggressive marketing campaign around its J series helped the brand to gain not only the market but also mindshare during the quarter. 2H 2018 is likely to be a close race between Samsung and Xiaomi especially during the important upcoming festive season," Karn said.

However, Counterpoint data said OnePlus lead the premium Rs.30,000 segment for the first time ever.

The data also pointed out that Apple had a 1 percent market share during the quarter, its lowest in recent history.

Meanwhile, domestic handset maker Lava is the only local brand which registered positive annual growth during the quarter driven by entry-level models including its first Android Go device - Z50.

Transsion group led by itel, Tecno, Infinix, and Spice continues to grow in the smartphone segment in India. Tecno grew 74 percent sequentially as it brought full screen and facial unlock features at an entry-level price during the quarter.

Furthermore, the smartphone market returned to double-digit growth (18 percent) YoY after a flat first-quarter growth. The feature phone market continues to outpace the smartphone market with a YoY growth of 21 percent.

Anshika Jain, Research Analyst stated: "India smartphone market returned to double-digit growth during the quarter and is likely to grow in double digits for the entire year.

Commenting further Jain noted, "As volume share of the top five players grew more than 80 percent, local and smaller players were forced to change their strategy which involved changing channels and product strategy along with cutting down on SKUs.