New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) Samsung led the premium smartphone segment in India in 2018 with 34 per cent share, followed closely by OnePlus at 33 per cent, Counterpoint Research said on Wednesday.
At third position, Apple had 23 per cent market share as the overall premium smartphone segment grew by 8 per cent (year-on-year) for the full year and 16 per cent (YoY) for Q4 2018.
OnePlus recorded its highest-ever shipments in a single quarter (Q4), capturing 36 per cent market share to lead premium smartphone segment for three successive quarters.
"OnePlus 6 was the best-selling premium model throughout 2018 in terms of shipment as well as in retail value. OnePlus 6T was positioned at second place followed by Samsung S9 Plus," said Karn Chauhan, Research Analyst at Counterpoint.
OnePlus' expansion into the offline space along with 'Experience Stores' will help it reach potential user base in coming quarters, he added.
Samsung captured 26 per cent share of the premium segment and its shipments grew 72 per cent (YoY) in Q4 2018.
"The newly-launched Galaxy A9, the world's first quad rear camera phone, in Rs 30,000-40,000 price segment attributed towards Samsung's growth, which is in direct competition with OnePlus," said the report.
Apple's premium segment shipments declined 25 per cent (YoY) in Q4 2018 mainly due to extreme high-premium-commanding pricing for iPhones as Apple continues to choose to pay 20 per cent import duty on new imported iPhones instead of manufacturing in India.
"As a result, we believe Apple to start manufacturing locally for latest iPhones in 2019and beyond to potentially lower the current higher iPhone pricing," said Chauhan.
The top three brands -- OnePlus, Samsung and Apple -- contributed to 92 per cent of the overall premium market in Q4 2018.
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