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"Samsung led the smartphone user base with 34 percent in 2019, followed by Xiaomi at 20 percent, Vivo at 11 percent and OPPO at 9 percent"
Over 502.2 million Indians are smartphone users as of December 2019, which is a 15 percent increase from 2018. This is primarily because of brands like Xiaomi and Realme that are adding new users with every launch, according to a new report from market research firm techARC. This means over 77 percent of Indians are online through smartphones. Samsung led the smartphone installed base with 34 percent in 2019, followed by Xiaomi at 20 percent, Vivo at 11 percent and OPPO at 9 percent. Faisal Kawoosa, Founder and Chief Analyst, techARC said, "After a slow migration rate from feature phones to smartphones for a couple of years, it's good to see that the market has started to expand again."
Realme, Vivo, and OnePlus have led the smartphone brands in terms of percentage net addition to the user base in 2019. Realme had increased its user base by 49 percent, Vivo by 44 percent and OnePlus by 41 percent. Samsung, Xiaomi, and OPPO added 9 percent, 25 percent and 36 percent, respectively. "Factors like availability of good-quality affordable smartphones, expansion of online as well as offline channels, expansion of 4G/LTE networks by the operators are among the key reasons driving the smartphone user growth," noted Kawoosa.
However, things will be challenging going forward as the market is saturating in terms of the addressable market. Smartphone brands should introduce their services which could generate revenue consistently, the report states. In the current form, brands are generating around $0.5-$1.5 a month from users through a variety of services they are offering, including ads. Another strategy is to offer accessories and smart products like TVs and speakers. Vivo, OPPO, and Realme will be three main gainers for 2020 in terms of new user addition, according to the techINSIGHT report. The report adds, "Realme could enter in top five brands by installing user base displacing Lenovo MBG (Lenovo + Motorola) brands. Xiaomi will continue to exhibit growth in user base while Samsung could start showing off a decline in its user base or grow with a low percentile."