Apple Beats Samsung To Become The Top Earning Smartphone Brand In India In Q4 2021

Last Updated on February 4, 2022 by Asif Iqbal Shaik

Apple is on an onslaught, first topping the global sales, and now dominating the Indian smartphone industry. Counterpoint’s new report suggests the Cupertino-based tech giant captured a significant market share in 2021. According to the report, Apple has sold about 6.5 million iPhone units in India in 2021, doubling the 3.1 million handsets sold in 2020. 

Counterpoint’s data suggests Xiaomi and Samsung sold 9.3 million units and 7.2 million units in India in just Q4 2021. In comparison, Apple managed to sell just 2.3 million units during the same period. Despite that, Apple made over $2.09 billion in Q4 2021 in India, just beating Samsung with earnings of $2 billion. Suffice to say, Apple has the most margins and the data suggests it rules the ultra-premium smartphone market in India with a market share of about 70%.

It’s a turning point for Apple in India. Indians were willing to lavish money on premium phones during the pandemic because everyone’s lives revolved around their devices and there was nothing else to spend on.

Neil Shah, Research Head at Counterpoint Technology Market Research

The 3% YoY (Year-on-Year) increase in shipments of Apple in Q4 could be attributed to the launch of the iPhone 13 smartphone series in 2021. Apple finally included a high-refresh-rate screen and has optimised the chipset to be a performance monster while staying power-efficient, which could be the reason behind its success that has catapulted the company to the top. We reviewed the iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max, and came up extremely impressed with them.

Also, Apple regained the topmost position in the Chinese smartphone market after six long years, right after the launch of the iPhone 13. The company managed to gain a 23% market share in China in the fourth quarter of 2021. China’s own manufacturer, Vivo, took the second position with a 19% market share.

To sum it up, the desirability aspect and improvements made to the iPhone seem to be the major driving force behind Apple’s triumph in the Indian and Chinese markets. Also, Apple’s stance on manufacturing products in India will be crucial if the brand eyes on sustaining the lead in the Indian market.