CMR, part of CyberMedia, said a total of 14.83 cr 4G LTE devices were sold in India during 2017 — or one for every 5 adults in the country.
The number of 4G devices sold in the country rose 80% compared to 2016, it added. This includes mobile phones, tablets and dongles and mifi devices.
Thanks to the explosive growth in 4G, 47% of all mobile phones sold during the year had LTE in it. The percentage was 39% for tablets and 99% for data dongles or data-cards.
CHINA RISING
If the overall 4G market jumped by 80%, the sale of Chinese branded devices rose even faster — at 143%.
As a result, said CMR, 50% of all LTE devices sold in 2017 in India came with a Chinese brand. This is different from being merely ‘Made in China’, as these devices were not just ‘Made in China’, but were sold under a Chinese brand such as Lenovo or Xiaomi.
For the full year, Samsung remained No.1 in the 4G handset market with a 21% market share, followed by Xiaomi with 18% and LYF with 14%.
There have been reports that Xiaomi overtook Samsung towards the end of 2017 as India’s largest smartphone brand by volumes.
“The Chinese success story in India can be traced to their keen and clear understanding of the needs of the discerning Indian customers, and offering them, with the latest specs at affordable price points,” said Prabhu Ram, who heads the Industry Intelligence Group at CMR.