New Delhi, Feb 15: The year 2018 ended with just two companies together controlling around 50 per cent share of the India smartphone market - Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi and South Korean giant Samsung, according to latest data released by International Data Corporation (IDC). Xiaomi surpassed Samsung to become the market leader in 2018 with 28.9 per cent share in the Indian smartphone market which shipped 142.3 million units last year, according to IDC's Asia/Pacific Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report. Samsung came second with 22.4 per cent share. Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus Hands On Video Leaked Ahead of Global Launch.

In 2017, Xiaomi had 20.9 per cent market share, compared to 24.7 per cent share of Samsung. In 2018, Vivo (14.2 per cent), OPPO (10.2 per cent) and Transsion (6.4 per cent) were the other three brands that found a place in the list of top five smartphone brands in the country. Except Samsung, four of the five smartphone brands are based in China. Samsung To Launch Atleast 4 New Galaxy A Smartphones in India Till June 2019.

"Amongst the big highlights of 2018 were the online-focused brands that drove the share of the online channel to an all-time high of 38.4 per cent in 2018," Upasana Joshi, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India, said in a statement.

Responding to the report, Xiaomi India Managing Director Manu Kumar Jain on Tuesday credited the stunning show by the company to "100 per cent team work" and love from "Mi Fans". Samsung Galaxy ‘M30’ Smartphone, With Triple Rear-Camera and 5,000mAH Battery, to Be Launched in India This Month; Will Be Priced at Rs 15,000

"Mi Fans! Thank you for your love and support," Jain tweeted, adding that in the fourth quarter of 2018, the company emerged as 54 per cent bigger than the second brand. The results show that Apple, which experienced lower than expected sales of iPhones in some emerging markets in recent times, especially in China, has not been able to make much of an impact in the Indian smartphone market as well.

The premium smartphone segment (above Rs 35,000) constitutes a meagre three percent share of the overall India smartphone market, despite outgrowing all other price segments in 2018 with 43.9 per cent year-over-year (YoY) growth, according to IDC.

"OnePlus emerged as the leader in $500-$700 segment on the back of the OnePlus 6 and the newly-launched OnePlus 6T. However, in the super premium segment of $700+, Samsung surpassed Apple for the top position with its Galaxy S9 series," Joshi added.

With the government initiative to push local manufacturing in India, 2018 witnessed further duty hikes on mobile phone components, IDC said, adding that weakened rupee further added to the challenges of the long tail of brands outside the top five.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 15, 2019 06:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).