Rising demand for affordable 4G handsets in India helped fuel a 21.3 per cent increase in smartphone shipments in Q3.

Shipments rose to 28.3 million units year-on-year, with 4G devices accounting for a third of units shipped after expanding almost threefold from the previous quarter, according to IDC.

Growth also was driven by low-cost models with larger screens. “Nearly one out of every two smartphones sold had a 5-inch plus display,” said IDC market analyst Jaipal Singh.

Samsung continued to lead the market with a 24 per cent share (see chart below, click to enlarge) and overtook Lenovo as the top 4G vendor. Its sub-$150 LTE models, such as the Galaxy Grand Prime and Galaxy J2, were popular.
IDC India Q3

Micromax remained number 2 with a 16.7 per cent share, and Intex was third with 10.8 per cent share. The vendor saw a sharp rise in shipments in the sub-$50 segment and its entry-level 3G devices.

Lenovo moved ahead of Lava to take fourth with a 9.5 per cent share, after shipments jumped 59 per cent from the previous quarter.

Lava slipped to fifth place with a 4.7 per cent share as shipments fell 25 per cent sequentially. IDC said the maker has not moved fast enough to capitalise on the fast growing 4G market or diversified its channel strategy in favour of online channels.

“E-tailers such as Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon continue to drive shipments of the Chinese vendors, which have been aggressively trying to capture the 4G smartphone market in India,” said Karthik J, senior market analyst for client devices.