• Smartphones: More than 40% of the mobile phones shipped were smartphones
• 4G LTE Smartphone: More than one in two smartphones shipped during the quarter were LTE smartphone
• Make in India: Almost half of mobile phones sold during the quarter were “Made in India” with 20+ mobile phone brands now assembling their phones in India.
• Domestic brands such as Intex and Lava have considerably closed the gap with the second largest mobile phone or the number one domestic mobile phone brand Micromax
• Almost one in three smartphones were sold through online channels during the year.

Exhibit 1: India Mobile Phone and Smartphone Shipments 4Q 2015

• Samsung led the overall mobile phone market and the smartphone segment during the quarter with market shares of 23.6% and 28.6% respectively.
• It also retained top slot for the entire calendar year with market shares of 19.8% and 25.7% in overall mobile phone market and smartphone market respectively.
• Samsung's J series drove volumes for the Korean giant as it ramped up the series by launching multiple SKUs in the entry to mid-level segment.
• Three out of the top five smartphones during the quarter were from J series with J2 being the best-selling smartphone in India during the quarter.
• It used its distribution prowess to gain a much needed foothold in the $100-$200 segment where it is facing stiff competition from local and Chinese brands. However, it continues to lose market share in sub $100 price segment.
• It also led the LTE smartphone segment during the quarter

• Micromax maintained the second position in both overall mobile phone market and the smartphone segment, with market shares of 13.7% and 14.3% respectively.
• It also retained second position for the entire calendar year with a market share of 13.5% and 16.1% in overall mobile phone market and smartphone market respectively.
• However, it faced intense competition in $50-$100 price segment from other local brands which led to decline in shipments during the quarter.
• It was the number three LTE player during the quarter
• Micromax’s Cyanogen-based online-only brand ‘Yu’ launched its high-end LTE model ‘Yutopia’ during the quarter extending its portfolio from cheapest LTE to its costliest LTE phone ever.
• Micromax Yu brand crossed 2 Million units in CY 2015 signifying growing user base as it plans to scale up Yu ecosystem deeply integrating O2O services such as “Around Yu”.

• Intex cemented its third position in the overall handset market during the quarter and for the entire year with market share's of 13% and 10.4% respectively.
• It lost its number three spot in the smartphone market to Lenovo during the quarter with a market share of 9.6%. However, it ended the year as third largest smartphone vendor with a market share of 10.4% driven by growth in entry level smartphones.
• Demand for Intex products remains strong sub-$100 smartphone price band which is the key reason for its growth. However, the vendor needs to scale portfolio and drive volumes in mid-tier smartphone segment to capture the growing number of upgrades.
• Intex is an official sponsor for IPL cricket tournament’s newest team and will be thus looking forward to aggressively market its new line of LTE smartphones.

• Lava (excluding Xolo) maintained the fourth spot in the overall handset market and 7% share in the smartphone market in Q4 2015 with healthy demand for Lava Iris and Flair series.
• Lenovo including Motorola raced to third position in smartphone segment for the first time ever in India surpassing Intex with a market share of 11% during the quarter.
• Lenovo was also the second largest LTE player during the quarter and for the entire year.
• Meanwhile, Apple achieved a landmark - crossing 2 Million units in a calendar year for the first time ever in India, helped by a strong fourth quarter.
• Apple still only commands 2% volume share of smartphones, though its high prices means it had the third largest revenue share in 2015. This highlights the prowess of Apple’s brand equity and control over high-value & high-profit premium segment.
• Microsoft lost its place among the top five brands in a quarter for the first time ever as Lumia shipments declined sequentially and annually.
• Meanwhile, other brands that grew significantly during the quarter included the Chinese players Oneplus, Coolpad and Meizu.
• 2016 will be a highly competitive year as brands such as Huawei (with Honor), LeTV and Vivo expand with aggressive offerings to compete head-on with other Indian and Chinese players

Exhibit 2: India Mobile Phone and Smartphone Shipments CY 2015

The comprehensive and in-depth Q4 2015 and CY 2015 Market Monitor is available for subscribing clients. Please feel free to contact us at [email protected] for further questions regarding our in-depth latest research, insights or press enquiries. The Market Monitor research is based on sell-in (shipments) estimates based on vendor’s reported results, vendor polling triangulated with sell-through (sales), supply chain checks and secondary research.