Reliance LYF Smartphones now fifth Largest Smartphone Vendor in India

With the slowed smartphone penetration in the world’s largest smartphone market, China and other developed countries have made the manufacturers to look out for emerging markets like India. The latest report of Q1 2016 shipments in India suggests the strong growth of Chinese brands in India. With their aggressive marketing and promotions, OPPO and Vivo have made their presence felt over most of the offline market in India.

A total of 23.5 million handsets are shipped in Q1 2016, which is 5.2% higher than the year-ago quarter. When compared to the previous quarter (Q4 2015), the shipments are lowered by 8.2%, and this is the second consecutive quarter running in the negative direction. The reports also suggest a total of 25 manufacturers are now manufacturing in Inda under “Make in India” campaign. Though most of the brands just import and assemble in India.

There is a strong decline from the established brands in India and the festive season ended with Q4 2015 doesn’t add up anything to it. The top three Indian brands Micromax, Intex, and Lava saw a major 20.4% drop from the previous quarter. Compared to the year-ago quarter, the 4G smartphone shipments has grown by six times reaching 15.4 million units in Q1 2016. Samsung leads the race of 4G device followed by Lenovo and new entrant Reliance’s LYF.

The LeEco also entered the Indian market in Q1, and it’s budget smartphone LeEco Le 1S has seen immense popularity. Samsung stands first with its market share of 26.6% and is followed by Micromax and Intex with 12.6% and 9.2% respectively. Lenovo along with Moto devices accounts for 8.2% market share and takes the fourth position. The Reliance’s smartphone brand LYF has seen a strong Y-o-Y growth and made into the top 5 list with its market share of 7.1%.

The Galaxy J series introduced in 2015 accounts for a total of 75% of Samsung shipments. While the Micromax revamped product, line-up might help them to gain back their momentum in Q2 2016. The second largest Indian smartphone brand, Intex has doubled up its LTE supported device shipments by launching 15 new smartphones. The LYF’s growth is expected to be on the rise and with the public launch of Jio, it can grow even faster.

This story appeared first on Phone Radar. Join the PhoneRadar Forums to discuss, meet experts & share your experiences.