Smartphone shipments in India registered double-digit growth in Q4 2020, continuing a recovery started in Q3 and setting the stage for continued momentum in 2021, Canalys reported.

Research director Rushabh Doshi stated consumer demand showed “incredible resilience”, giving manufacturers, “channel partners and supply chain vendors” the confidence to boost investments.

Along with government production incentives, pending 5G rollouts and the entry of new players, “we expect a faster recovery for the entire industry in 2021”.

Shipments in Q4 increased 13 per cent year-on-year to 43.9 million units, though the full year figure was down 2 per cent to 145 million following a weak first half.

Xiaomi maintained its leading position in Q4, with shipments of 12 million units up 7 per cent. Samsung held second place on 9.2 million units (up 13 per cent), followed by Vivo on 7.1 million (10 per cent higher); 5.5 million for Oppo (up 23 per cent); and Realme with 5.1 million (9 per cent more).

Canalys research analyst Varun Kannan noted Chinese vendors appeared unaffected by political headwinds between China and India, accounting for around 77 per cent of total shipments in 2020 compared with 72 per cent in 2019.

He predicted further gains as Indian operators prepare to launch 5G services.