Smartphones see a muted ’23, this year may be better

livemint.com:

Mint said, even as they expect the year ahead to be better than the last. Smartphone volumes at 144-145 million units in 2023 remained unchanged from the previous year or were slightly less, four telecom analysts polled by Mint said. However, helped by higher-priced phones, the value of shipments touched $40-41 billion, up 8% from the previous year’s $38 billion, data from market researcher Counterpoint India shows.

In 2024, analysts predict value growth at 12-16%, driven by AI being embedded in devices, among other things. The struggle to grow volumes shows that Indian consumers are keeping their phones for longer, as well as the inability of 5G connectivity to trigger a boom. According to retailers and analysts, things could look up this year, thanks to the upcoming general election and proliferation of sub- ₹10,000 5G smartphones.

Some, therefore, expect volumes to grow in low single digits. They also expect more takers for smartphones priced above ₹50,000, strengthening the trend of 2023. iPhone-maker Apple’s performance reflects this.

The Cupertino-based company continued to defy the trend, closing a 35% increase in shipments in 2023, as per a Mint analysis based on data from researcher International Data Corp. (IDC). Its growth also comes off rising disposable incomes, more discounts and easy instant financing options in India.

In November, Upasana Joshi, research manager at IDC India, said that a total of 35 million smartphones were projected to be shipped in the December quarter. This is what appears to have played out as well. Navkendar Singh, associate vice-president at IDC India, said that even Apple’s sales tapered off towards the end of the year as consumer sentiments remained muted.