Lenovo and Apple have emerged as the fastest growing smartphone vendors in India over the course of Q1 of 2016. This interesting piece of information comes courtesy a new Canalys report on domestic smartphone shipments during the quarter.
Overall, the Indian smartphone sector saw a 12% year-on-year growth thanks to 24.4 million units getting shipped during Q1 of 2016. The top 5 players namely Samsung, Micromax, Intex, Lenovo and Lava remain the same as Q1 of 2015. However, Lenovo has outpaced its rivals by registering a 63% year-on-year rise.
Canalys claims this has come to pass through a combination of Lenovo offering value-for-money phones and expanding its offline channel strategy. Apple in the meanwhile has gone through some remarkable expansion of its own. The handset maker is at the number 8 spot in the rankings but was only second to the former when it comes to growth thanks to a 56% increase in shipments.
Sales of the iPhone 5S have primarily driven this surge in fortune. Canalys thinks the situation could be short-lived though, as it has more to do with a premium phone becoming affordable than a preference for smaller phones. The firm also believes that the pricey iPhone SE will actively discourage buyers, in addition to government regulations which are set to curb discounts by online retailers.
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Microsoft, BlackBerry, Sony and LG proved to be the biggest losers in Q1 of 2016. The report attributes this to the market’s trend towards low-cost devices, with the vendors unable to compete in such an environment.