How 5G changed the smartphone market in India in 2022
Even though the first 5G smartphone landed in India in 2019, the relevance of 5G network in a vast country as ours turned important — and crucial — sometime back. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services in India in October, giving permission to the country’s leading carriers, Reliance Jio and Airtel to open their 5G network for public use. And with that one of the important purposes of 5G phones came to fruition. Currently, more than 50 Indian cities have 5G, propelling the demand for 5G phones that was only pacing gradually prior to the 5G rollout.
According to CyberMedia Research (CMR), the 5G smartphone shipments in India grew 30 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of 2022, despite the decline in overall shipments of smartphones caused by the global socio-economic turmoil. In other words, sales of 5G smartphones in India skyrocketted shortly after 5G network became commercially available to everyone. Top brands that shipped most 5G phones in India include Xiaomi, Samsung, and Realme — all three also the quickest ones to roll out software updates for their phones to make them compatible with Indian 5G services.
What changed?
This is a simple concept of demand and supply. When 5G was not available, only a few customers who decided not to upgrade their device in as few as next two years went for 5G phones. The market, however, is barely driven by customers like this. A majority of customers back then were not too convinced by the word “5G” that every brand threw in the name of their phones. Fast forward to earlier this year — when the auction had just concluded, customers received affirmation from the government that 5G was just a few months away. And as soon as the demand for 5G phones grew alongside the rollout, the supply of 5G phones increased.
Since the Indian smartphone market is probably one of the most volatile ones globally, the brands were cautious enough to put reasonable price tags on their 5G phones. After all, theirs is a pivotal role in the speedy 5G adoption. An affordable 5G phone means more sales and widening of 5G network. But during this shift in the consumer demand, the Indian smartphone market underwent a major change.
5G became a mainstay for mid-range and higher smartphones. Customers became reluctant in buying a phone over Rs 20,000 if 5G was lacking in it. And that compelled smartphone brands to change their ingredients for a successful phone at any given price segment.
Himanshu Tandon, country head of Poco India, previously told BGR India that there is a premium smartphone brands have to pay to use 5G chipsets. And that adds to the cost of the phone if they leave everything else in it as-is. In other words, if you replace the 4G chipset of a high-specced phone with a 5G phone, it will not cost the same. Sometimes the change in price ends up being quite high, and there is only so much a smartphone brand can absorb to keep the affordability intact. As a result, brands have to make a decision to keep the costs low. They let go of some features that you would otherwise easily get on a 4G phone around the same price to accomodate 5G support.
Is it over for 4G?
Gradually, the volume of 5G phones began to increase at price segments higher than, say, Rs 18,000 – Rs 20,000. But that did not dent the 4G phone market much. Sure, the 4G phones went into sort of a confinement price-wise, but their demand is still very much on.
Madhav Sheth, Realme India CEO, joined Tandon to say that 4G smartphones are not going anywhere anytime soon. India has a varied consumer base, so both 5G and 4G technology can co-exist here for a long time. Moreover, 5G is sparingly available in India currently. Even though Indian carriers have set a goal to make 5G services available to every nook and corner of the country by December 2023, accessing 5G everywhere will likely be unfeasible — at least for next few years. 4G phones have become cheaper than before and are expected to be in use despite the surging demand for 5G phones.
A positive change in 2022
The rollout of 5G services earlier this year played a major role in making 5G phones mainstream in India. This also helped brands realise the consumer needs for an emerging market by realigning their focus on 4G phones. 2022, in a nutshell, proved to be instrumental in shaping India’s smartphone market for many upcoming years.
The post How 5G changed the smartphone market in India in 2022 appeared first on BGR India.
Even though the first 5G smartphone landed in India in 2019, the relevance of 5G network in a vast country as ours turned important — and crucial — sometime back. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services in India in October, giving permission to the country’s leading carriers, Reliance Jio and Airtel to open their 5G network for public use. And with that one of the important purposes of 5G phones came to fruition. Currently, more than 50 Indian cities have 5G, propelling the demand for 5G phones that was only pacing gradually prior to the 5G rollout.
According to CyberMedia Research (CMR), the 5G smartphone shipments in India grew 30 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of 2022, despite the decline in overall shipments of smartphones caused by the global socio-economic turmoil. In other words, sales of 5G smartphones in India skyrocketted shortly after 5G network became commercially available to everyone. Top brands that shipped most 5G phones in India include Xiaomi, Samsung, and Realme — all three also the quickest ones to roll out software updates for their phones to make them compatible with Indian 5G services.
What changed?
This is a simple concept of demand and supply. When 5G was not available, only a few customers who decided not to upgrade their device in as few as next two years went for 5G phones. The market, however, is barely driven by customers like this. A majority of customers back then were not too convinced by the word “5G” that every brand threw in the name of their phones. Fast forward to earlier this year — when the auction had just concluded, customers received affirmation from the government that 5G was just a few months away. And as soon as the demand for 5G phones grew alongside the rollout, the supply of 5G phones increased.
Since the Indian smartphone market is probably one of the most volatile ones globally, the brands were cautious enough to put reasonable price tags on their 5G phones. After all, theirs is a pivotal role in the speedy 5G adoption. An affordable 5G phone means more sales and widening of 5G network. But during this shift in the consumer demand, the Indian smartphone market underwent a major change.
5G became a mainstay for mid-range and higher smartphones. Customers became reluctant in buying a phone over Rs 20,000 if 5G was lacking in it. And that compelled smartphone brands to change their ingredients for a successful phone at any given price segment.
Himanshu Tandon, country head of Poco India, previously told BGR India that there is a premium smartphone brands have to pay to use 5G chipsets. And that adds to the cost of the phone if they leave everything else in it as-is. In other words, if you replace the 4G chipset of a high-specced phone with a 5G phone, it will not cost the same. Sometimes the change in price ends up being quite high, and there is only so much a smartphone brand can absorb to keep the affordability intact. As a result, brands have to make a decision to keep the costs low. They let go of some features that you would otherwise easily get on a 4G phone around the same price to accomodate 5G support.
Is it over for 4G?
Gradually, the volume of 5G phones began to increase at price segments higher than, say, Rs 18,000 – Rs 20,000. But that did not dent the 4G phone market much. Sure, the 4G phones went into sort of a confinement price-wise, but their demand is still very much on.
Madhav Sheth, Realme India CEO, joined Tandon to say that 4G smartphones are not going anywhere anytime soon. India has a varied consumer base, so both 5G and 4G technology can co-exist here for a long time. Moreover, 5G is sparingly available in India currently. Even though Indian carriers have set a goal to make 5G services available to every nook and corner of the country by December 2023, accessing 5G everywhere will likely be unfeasible — at least for next few years. 4G phones have become cheaper than before and are expected to be in use despite the surging demand for 5G phones.
A positive change in 2022
The rollout of 5G services earlier this year played a major role in making 5G phones mainstream in India. This also helped brands realise the consumer needs for an emerging market by realigning their focus on 4G phones. 2022, in a nutshell, proved to be instrumental in shaping India’s smartphone market for many upcoming years.
The post How 5G changed the smartphone market in India in 2022 appeared first on BGR India.
