Apple is Now the Second Largest Smartphone Brand by Revenue in India

Apple might be facing numerous issues elsewhere, but it seems Indians are loving the iPhone. Apple’s iPhone has become the second largest smartphone brand in terms of revenue and the fifth largest by volume in India.

Official data from industry trackers and mobile phone retailers is yet to be released but analysts say Apple has dislodged Blackberry and is wrestling with Samsung for top spot. IDC’s Asia-Pacific Mobile Phone Tracker for October-December 2012 will show later this week that Apple achieved a value market share of 15.6% compared with 3.9% in the preceding quarter.

According to IDC data, Samsung, which is still the leader in the smartphones segment with a hefty lead, reported an almost 12% fall in value market share and shipments in the fourth quarter compared with the preceding one. Even BlackBerry and HTC lost ground during the period, which analysts attribute to Apple’s aggression in the market place.

In value terms, Apple was still way behind Samsung’s 38.8% share, but ahead of BlackBerry’s 6%, while its volume grew more than three times, putting the iPhone at fifth spot behind Samsung, Micromax, Sony and Nokia. “Apple’s sudden jump to become the second-largest player by revenue in smartphones is a surprise as has been the four-fold increase in shipment of iPhones to India in the last quarter,” IDC India’s Senior Market Analyst Manasi Yadav said. “We expect equally high numbers for the current quarter as well.”

Another report on mobile phone shipments by Cyber Media Research is also expected to confirm Apple’s jump in the smartphone league tables. The yet-to-be-published report is expected to say Apple had shipments worth Rs 1,142.8 crore in the October-December 2012 quarter into India, more than three times that of brands such as BlackBerry and Nokia.