Raghu Reddy, head of categories and online sales for India’s leading smartphone company Xiaomi, is unfazed by the slowdown that has gripped the consumer goods market. His confidence is not unfounded. Smartphone shipments grew by 10 per cent during the April-June quarter to reach 37 million units, the highest for the quarter. June quarter growth is traditionally …
Can Indian Mobile Brands turn over a new leaf?
A few years ago, the smartphone market in India had a different complexion from the one now, with the likes of Micromax, Lava, Intel and Karbonn enjoying a healthy market leadership with their affordable mobile phones. Xiaomi had just entered the market, and other Chinese mobile brands were exploring their own forays into India. Circa …
Google bets big with several ‘India first’ features
From alerting Google Maps users when their vehicle goes off-route to partnering with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for the “Loo Review” campaign, the bullish search engine giant has had a history of building India-first features for the world’s second-largest population. India also has the second-biggest digital market and the Internet population of …
Redmi push & Jai Mani’s exit: End of the road for Xiaomi’s Poco brand?
Xiaomi may well be looking at killing its newly created sub-brand Poco, say analysts, with one of the top executives responsible for its development quitting amid the Chinese handset maker’s renewed push on the mid-to-premium price segment through newly created sub-brand Redmi. This price segment was previously catered through the Poco sub-brand. Speaking to ET, Xiaomi’s India head …
Years later, Virtual Reality headsets are yet to take off
Having been around for nearly five years now, Virtual Reality (VR) headsets are yet to find adoption among the masses. You only find them tucked away in a corner at the neighbourhood mall where kids wearing head-mounted devices (HMDs) experience virtual games. Even those who bought VR headsets — either as an independent unit or bundled with …
The US-China Trade War, and India’s Tryst With Destiny
The ongoing US-China trade war represents a seminal moment in trade history with significant promise for a clear realignment of global value chain. In July 2018, US President Donald Trump followed through on his threats, and imposed sweeping tariffs on China for its alleged unfair trade practices. The US imposed higher tariffs on US$250Bn worth …
An incredible situation for Huawei: Do or die
With effect from August 19, American companies including Google are prohibited from selling products and services (like Android) to Huawei, and the Chinese giant is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the perception that business is as usual. There is an eerie silence about the company’s operations in India. Several industry experts who previously spoke …
Samsung wrests back premium smartphone crown
India’s premium mobile market is buzzing with action. The market, which opened up with the entry of a new Chinese player OnePlus, is now seeing heightened activity with Samsung coming out with all its might to capture its lost glory. OnePlus has upped its market share in the Indian mobile handset market in the premium …
In Conversation: Anku Jain, MediaTek
Mr. Anku Jain is Managing Director, MediaTek India, since April 2018. Since joining MediaTek 14 years ago, Mr. Jain has played an important role in developing MediaTek’s operations in India. He most recently served as senior director and head of MediaTek’s office in Noida. Mr. Jain oversees the operations of MediaTek’s office in Noida and …
Battleground 2.0: Offline a tough nut to crack for online-heavy brands like Xiaomi, Realme?
Brick and mortar shops are becoming the next battleground for handset brands in the country as brands like Samsung, Oppo and Vivo takes steps to further bolster their footprints following the entry of online-heavy brands like Xiaomi and Realme. Analysts said that brand clutter on retail counters will increase following an intense competition. However, analysts …