Delhi Delhi. India's smartphone market is set to grow 3 percent in volume and 12 percent in value in Q3 2024, a record-high quarter, according to Counterpoint Research Monthly India Smartphone Tracker. 5G smartphones accounted for 81 percent of total shipments, of which 93 percent penetration was in the Rs 10,001-15,000 range, as Indians preferred budget-friendly 5G models.

The market share split for smartphones sold by Chinese, Indian and global brands has remained largely the same over the past five years. Make in India's efforts to localize smartphone production on Indian soil have made no dent in the dominance of Chinese smartphones in the Indian market. Price-sensitive Indian consumers are increasingly showing strong preference for affordable Chinese smartphones with cutting-edge features. . As a result, despite government efforts to reduce the dominance of Chinese brands in smartphones, their prevalence remains largely unaffected.

But if we talk about chipsets, MediaTek dominated India's smartphone chipset market with 54 percent share. Apple leads the premium smartphone segment with 35 percent share, while Qualcomm is at second place with 28 percent. This reflects the growth driven by affordability and technological advancements by these companies. A smartphone chipset provides a wide variety of functions, from cellular communications to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth usage, general computing, power management, memory, storage interfaces, and peripheral interfaces. .

Chinese smartphone brands have maintained consistent market share in India, but Chinese chipset producers have seen very modest growth in the Indian market. Chinese chipset producers are entering the Indian market and have seen a modest but growing market share in India. According to Counterpoint, UNISOC achieved 11 percent global smartphone chipset market share from Q2 2023 to Q3 2024, while HiSilicon (Huawei) gained 2 percent share.

Globally, China is facing challenges due to US sanctions and reports suggest that the US is preparing to blacklist Chinese chip makers due to security concerns and data privacy.

In such a situation, India has a big opportunity and is taking big steps to build its chip industry from scratch. It is taking a strategic step to establish a domestic semiconductor ecosystem. The government's Semiconductor Mission with an investment of $10 billion will not only reduce the dependence on imported semiconductor supplies but will also make India an exporter of chips. Global Semiconductor Market by 2030 It is estimated to reach $1 trillion and India aims to capture a significant share with these initiatives.