India smartphone market contracting, but increasing in value because of iPhone

The latest note from Counterpoint Research examines "Made in India" smartphone shipments. They found that the 3% decline year-over-year to 188 million units was primarily due to lower consumer demand due to macroeconomic factors, especially in the second half of 2022.

Shipments fell 19% year-over-year in the last quarter due to a decline in local demand, with entry-level and mid-tier segments taking the biggest hit. But in terms of value, instead of volume, smartphone shipments saw a 34% year-over-year growth because of increased manufacturing and exports of premium smartphones.

Apple helped drive growth, and "Made in India" shipments from the company grew 65% year-over-year in volume and 162% year-over-year by value. As a result, it took Apple's share of the country's smartphone market value from 12% in 2021 to 25% in 2022.

"Apple's EMS (electronics manufacturing services) partners Foxconn Hon Hai and Wistron were the fastest growing manufacturers among the top 10 in Q4 2022," said Senior Research Analyst Prachir Singh. "Among the EMS players, Foxconn Hon Hai led the manufacturing shipments in Q4 2022, followed by Dixon."

OPPO led the "Made in India" smartphone shipments in 2022 with a 21.8% share, followed closely by Samsung at 21.3%.

Apple continues to make strides into the country by increasing efforts to have labor laws changed to allow factories to operate two 12-hour shifts. Apple supplier Foxconn is planning to build a new $700 million iPhone facility in Karnataka and expects to create about 100,000 jobs.