Canalys: Xiaomi lost to Samsung in India in Q4, still on top in full 2022
Canalys is ready with its report on the Indian market for Q4 of last year and the full 2022. This is the first time we saw a decline in shipments in Q4 compared to Q3. Year-on-year the final quarter saw volumes drop by an astonishing 27% and pushed the overall result for the year to a 6% decline compared to 2021.
For the first time in 20 quarters Samsung took the top spot as the biggest smartphone vendor for the first time since 2017, dethroning Xiaomi. However, the latter remains on top for the full 2022 year.
Even though Samsung's 2022 shipments dropped by 21%, it managed to secure the biggest chunk of the Indian market in Q4 with a 21% share - a 2 percentage point increase year-over-year. vivo increased its sales the most among major vendors - shipments grew 13% to secure a 20% slice of the market and second place.
Xiaomi dropped to third in Q4 with a whopping 40% decrease in sales and barely managed to stay ahead of Oppo that saw 10% growth and came just 100,000 units short of Xiaomi's achievement.
Realme fared even worse in Q4, shipping only a third of what it managed in the same quarter of 2021 and dropping to a rather distant fifth position.
| Vendor | Q4 2022 shipments (million) | Q4 2022 market share | Q4 2021 shipments (million) | Q4 2021 market share | Annual growth |
| Samsung | 6.7 | 21% | 8.5 | 19% | -21% |
| vivo | 6.4 | 20% | 5.6 | 13% | 13% |
| Xiaomi | 5.5 | 17% | 9.0 | 20% | -40% |
| Oppo | 5.5 | 17% | 5.0 | 11% | 9% |
| Realme | 2.7 | 8% | 7.6 | 17% | -65% |
| Others | 5.7 | 18% | 8.5 | 19% | -32% |
| Total | 32.4 | 100% | 44.2 | 100% | -27% |
Looking at 2022 as a whole, Xiaomi is still leading the pack with 20% share, but again it lost the most ground - losing over a quarter of its shipments.
Samsung is second, just like it was in 2021, but the difference has dropped from 10M to 1M units shipped. vivo is also much closer in third, its sales staying mostly flat year on year.
Oppo was the only one in the top 5 to record more sales in 2022 than in 2021, helping it overtake sister brand Realme for the fourth spot.
| Vendor | 2022 shipments (million) | 2022 market share | 2021 shipments (million) | 2021 market share | Annual growth |
| Xiaomi | 29.6 | 20% | 40.2 | 25% | -26% |
| Samsung | 28.6 | 19% | 30.1 | 19% | -5% |
| vivo | 25.4 | 17% | 25.8 | 16% | -2% |
| Oppo | 22.6 | 15% | 20.9 | 13% | 8% |
| Realme | 20.9 | 14% | 24.3 | 15% | -14% |
| Others | 24.5 | 16% | 20.2 | 13% | 22% |
| Total | 151.6 | 100% | 161.5 | 100% | -6% |
Canalys says Oppo and vivo owe their more positive performance to the more successful operations through the uneventful festive season in India. Their focus on offline channels helped them avoid sharing the fate of the others as e-commerce took the biggest hit.
Analysts argue that 2023 will be a slow-paced year due to the deepening global economic crisis, but in 2024, the Indian market will return to growth.
Reader comments
All components of smartphones are made globally. Like Image sensors are made in Japan, Korea etc; displays are made in China, Korea, Japan etc. Similarly sensors and other sensors and lenses, and many other components are made in different countries....
- 28 Jan 2023
- 7kk
It doesn't matter. Europeans already pay ridiculously high amount for the same smartphone that we get for much cheaper here. Small increase won't have much impact over there As for impact of depreciation of rupee, it impacts every brand, ...
- 28 Jan 2023
- vxg
Only for the few brands not manufactured in India. Also, compared to many other currencies, the rupee has gone down less, vis a vis the dollar.
- 27 Jan 2023
- vG1