As the tensions between India and China rise, India has banned 59 of China’s biggest mobile phone apps, including TikTok, WeChat and apps from Xiaomi, India’s No. 1 Smartphone brand. The ban on Chinese apps has been on the grounds that the apps are ‘engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of …
India’s smartphone market offering new opportunities to various companies
As consumer sentiment runs high amid growing chorus for boycotting Chinese goods in the country, the fluid situation in India’s smartphone market offers new opportunities for various smartphone makers, especially the non-Chinese ones like Samsung, Apple, Nokia, Asus and others, to realign their strategies and regain the lost market share in the face of fierce …
Here’s why OnePlus is bringing affordable smartphones
The latest move by OnePlus to shift its focus on affordable smartphones is a result of the pandemic which is forcing customers to hold back on discretionary purchases, especially in India, analysts said. They added changed strategy could be seen in the light of evolving market condition, especially mid-premium segment driving handset volumes. In …
Smartphone production in India could fall by 38-40% in H1 2020
Smartphone production in India will fall by 38-40% in the first half of 2020, a new report by Cybermedia Research (CMR) estimated. The Indian smartphone industry faced supply shortages due to shutdown of factories in China in February. Manufacturing here was hurt because the industry couldn’t source components required for production here. Factories in China …
Samsung faces tough but ‘doable’ challenge to rise to top in India handset market
It’s been a tough few years for Samsung in the India handset market, where it has struggled to keep pace with or beat back competition from Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo. The first signs of vulnerability came when Samsung lost the smartphone crown to Xiaomi in the September quarter of 2017. In …
Poco to Retain Its ‘Everything You Need, Nothing You Don’t’ Philosophy in Bid to Take on Xiaomi
It was August 2018 when Xiaomi officially announced Poco as its new sub-brand to cater to the growing demands of young smartphone users. The Chinese brand unveiled the Poco F1 as its first — and only — model that disrupted the market for mid-range smartphones with the then top-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC and up …
Xiaomi may lose top spot in Indian smartphone market in 2020
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is confident that it will be able to retain its No. 1 position in the Indian smartphone market next year too, but industry experts believe that the country may see a different winner in 2020. At the end of the first quarter of 2019, Xiaomi had a market share of 30.6%, …
Mi Credit by Xiaomi: Two Key Challenges for Adoption
Xiaomi, the No.1 smartphone brand in India with 26% market share in Q3 2019, is forging ahead with its diversification moves towards services, with a new offering, named Mi Credit, launched earlier this week that aims at simplifying access to credit for the youth. The new offering follows on the heels of the Mi Pay, …
Realme is taking on Xiaomi in India by aping Xiaomi’s India strategy
A small Chinese smartphone brand is using its bigger brother’s tricks to beat it on Indian turf. Realme, which began as an Oppo sub-brand in May 2018, was promptly spun off into a standalone entity. Between June and August 2019, the Shenzhen-based firm posted a phenomenal 600% year-over-year growth in India. In the quarter ended September 2019, …
Camera megapixels war: Picture perfect or just a gimmick?
In 2012, Nokia, which was at the top of the mobile industry, brought 808 PureView, a Symbian operating system (OS)-based smartphone with an insane 41MP camera that created quite a buzz. Since then, Android-based smartphones started gaining traction and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) began adding more camera megapixels to lure the crowd. Now Chinese smartphone …