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New Delhi: The 5G smartphone shipments grew 14 percent (year-on-year) in India in the first quarter (Q1) 2023, with 5G smartphone shipment share increasing to 41 percent, a new report said on Friday. According to CyberMedia Research (CMR), India’s 5G smartphone momentum continued through Q1 2023 with 34 new 5G launches, with Samsung leading the country’s market with a 23 percent share, followed by Apple with a 17 percent market share.

In addition, India’s smartphone market shipments declined by 21 percent (year-on-year), during Q1 2023, while the overall mobile market in the country declined by 20 percent (year-on-year). (Also Read: Get Samsung Galaxy A14 5G For Just Rs 1299 – Here’s How)

“The decline in smartphone shipments during Q1 2023 marks the first ever Q1 decline since 2019 and is attributed to extended inventory, weakened demand, and inflation. The overall feature phone segment declined by 19 percent (year-on-year), driven by muted demand and an increase in feature phone to smartphone upgrades,” said Shipra Sinha, Analyst – Industry Intelligence Group, CyberMedia Research (CMR). (Also Read: Tamil Nadu Opens Liquor Vending Machines: How It Works – Watch)

Moreover, the report showed, due to challenging economic conditions and slow demand, India saw a 38 percent (year-on-year) decline in the affordable smartphone segment (sub-Rs 7000), a 25 percent (year-on-year) decline in the value-for-money smartphone segment (Rs 7000 – Rs 25,000), and a 23 percent decline in the premium smartphone segment (Rs 25,000 – Rs 50,000).

However, the super-premium smartphone segment (Rs 50,000 – Rs 1,00,000) and the uber premium segment (>Rs 1,00,000) shipments saw remarkable growth of 96 percent and 208 percent (year-on-year), respectively.

Samsung (20 percent), Vivo (17 percent), and Xiaomi (16 percent), captured the top three spots in the smartphone leaderboard in Q1 2023, followed by Oppo (10 percent) and Realme (9 percent).

Around $2 billion worth of 5G smartphones shipped in Q1 2023. The report further mentioned that the cumulative 5G smartphone shipments are set to cross the 100 million mark in Q2 2023.

Apart from the 5G smartphone segment, Samsung also held the top spot in the smartphone market with a 20 percent market share in Q1 2023. Vivo secured the second spot with a 17 percent market share, while, Xiaomi slipped to the third position in the smartphone leaderboard with a 16 percent share.

“The overall foldable smartphone shipments grew 125 percent (year-on-year) in Q1 2023. This growth in the foldable smartphone market will bolster the overall smartphone market in CY2023 and beyond,” said Menka Kumari, Analyst-Industry Intelligence Group, CyberMedia Research (CMR).

Further, OPPO secured the fourth position with a market share of 10 percent, while, Realme held the fifth position with a market share of 9 percent.

However, Apple maintained its steady growth with a 7 percent market share in the smartphone market in Q1 2023, recording a significant (year-on-year) increase of 67 percent in its shipments.