Vivo accounted for 15.8 percent of the Indian phone market in the third quarter of 2024 according to IDC, comfortably surpassing Samsung. He is not a newcomer either. Vivo was India’s third-place brand as early as 2018, according to canallys.
It has produced some excellent phones and has pushed the boundaries in phone camera technology in particular, claiming to be the first to use a gimbal sensor stabilization in the 2020 Vivo X50 Pro and, later, pixel shifting in Vivo X60 series.
If you are among those who have never come across a Vivo phone before, you might assume that it is a local, Indian brand. It is not. Vivo belongs to the BBK group of phone makers, along with Oppo, OnePlus, Realme and others. These are all Chinese companies, under a parent company large enough to cast a Lovecraftian shadow. These Chinese brands are responsible for shaping the Indian phone market in 2024.
“Due to cheap data and the entry of Chinese brands into India over the last seven or eight years, (Chinese manufacturers) have really democratized pricing,” says Singh.
A decade or more ago, trade shows were packed with feature phones made for developing markets like India. The feature phone domain has changed and India is now entering a stage where, like the West, the public is more accepting of higher-priced phones and more able to purchase them.
“‘Value for money’ has been the common mindset of the Indian consumer, but it is rapidly shifting towards buying more premium phones,” says Neil Shah, vice president at CounterPoint Research. “The phone has become a central element for every user, with a higher return on investment than even buying a car, a house or insurance. Consumers see smartphones as an investment opportunity.” A phone , in India, sometimes it can be everything.”
The data backs it up. According CounterpointThe average selling price of a smartphone in India increased from $192 in the third quarter of 2020 to $293 in the same quarter of 2024.
It is this effect that has helped Apple perform so well in India, with a reported increase of almost 60 percent in market share from the third quarter of 2023 to 2024, according to IDC figures.
“Given that Apple’s average selling price is so high, it’s an achievement that Apple has done well in recent years,” says Singh. “One of the main reasons is that Apple is seen as an aspirational brand in India. It has a brand halo. Everyone would love to buy an iPhone. “Not everyone can afford it.”