2018 was the year of OnePlus. The Chinese company held the crown of the leader of the Indian premium smartphone market for three quarters in a row. But now, it seems like Samsung has broken its losing streak and regained the number one spot in the first quarter of 2019. We have OnePlus and Apple coming in second and third respectively.
Samsung the Usurper
The Indian premium smartphone market rankings have witnessed some shuffling in Q1 2019. With the launch of the Galaxy S10 series (S10e, S10, and S10+), Samsung managed to overtake the sales of the OnePlus models stealthily. The models, which commemorated the South Korean giant’s 10th anniversary, boast the world’s very first Dynamic AMOLED display. They also come with an Infinity-O screen. This essentially means that they have a punch hole front camera that entirely does away with a notch.
According to reports released by the company, their sales in Q1 2019 were nothing but good. The solid sales gave them 68.9 per cent market share (by volume) and 65.9 per cent (by value). Aditya Babbar, Samsung India director, also took a sarcastic dig at Apple. He said, “As you are aware that we always share actual sales numbers, not just shipments, from German market research firm Gfk.” Wow, talk about below the Apple logo belt! As most of you must be aware, Apple no longer announces sales in their earnings call. Instead, they opt to disclose only overall shipments. Touché, Samsung, touché!
What Does This Mean for Apple?
Even with Samsung at the helm in the Indian premium smartphone brand category, OnePlus 6T retained its spot as the best-selling smartphone in Q1 2019. Does this mean that the top two places will continue to be fought over by these two Asian brands? Will Apple continue to sack out on the number three spot? Will Apple get its act together? Only time and the launch of the 2019 iPhones will tell. Until then, stay tuned and read more about our speculations for the new iPhones and their possible features!
