Reason behind the competition between the smartphone manufacturers

The Indian smartphone market has become extremely competitive, with numerous brands vying for the top honors. We take a closer look at the reasons behind this intense competition.

The smartphone market today is extremely competitive. Not too long ago, it was Samsung that was the undisputed leader in the Indian smartphone market, followed only by domestic brands and local OEMs such as Micromax, Intex and Karbonn.

However, there was still a yawning gap between Samsung and the rest of the smartphone brands. All that changed when the Chinese manufacturers started entering the market, and the first among them was Xiaomi.

With the Chinese smartphone giant offering feature-rich smartphones at extremely attractive prices, the Indian brands soon found themselves outmatched, while brands like LG and Motorola too had to settle for crumbs.

Today, brands like OPPO, Realme, Vivo, OnePlus and of course, Xiaomi have gained a foothold in the Indian smartphone market, with only Samsung being the non-Chinese brand vying for the top honours.

While the Indian consumers now want Indian-made products, and the prevailing sentiment of ‘Made in India’ phones is boding well for the local OEMs, it is difficult to see the Chinese brands getting toppled anytime soon.

Here are a few reasons behind the intense competition between smartphone manufacturers.

Value-Added Products

Chinese OEMs, when they entered the Indian smartphone market, provided benefits that no other manufacturer at the time was providing. From better displays to more ergonomic designs, these smartphones even looked better than their counterparts at that price point.

Furthermore, smartphones offered by Xiaomi had more features, and were cheaper than those offered by other brands. Asus, with its line of ZenFones also started offering feature-rich models at low prices.

With these new brands directly competing with the likes of Samsung, LG, Motorola and the other heavy-hitters already in the market, it was only a matter of time before we witnessed intense competition for the top spots in the smartphone industry.

Today, brands like Realme, OPPO and Xiaomi are known to offer excellent smartphones at affordable prices, while OnePlus entered the market as a flagship killer, and is now yet another brand that focuses on the sub-premium segment offering flagship phones. Consumers today can also purchase flagship models easily, by purchasing mobile on EMI.

Budget-Friendly Smartphones

One of the biggest reasons for this competition is because we now have various brands trying to out-do each other, by offering feature-rich phones at budget-friendly prices.

When you talk about smartphones under Rs. 15,000, you get excellent models from brands like Samsung, Realme, Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo and even Motorola!

The competition only grows more intense in the mid-range and mid-premium segments, with OnePlus and even Apple now offering mid-premium smartphones.

While OnePlus recently unveiled the OnePlus Nord smartphone, starting at Rs. 24,999, Apple launched the iPhone SE 2020 edition, which comes with the latest features and runs on the powerful A13 Bionic chipset.

Thus, brands like OnePlus and Apple, which, for years, had been catering to the premium segment, are now foraying into other segments. Meanwhile, Samsung, Xiaomi and OPPO are now competing on all fronts to capture the biggest chunk of market share.

Better Features

For less than Rs. 10,000, you now get 5,000mAh battery smartphone with excellent cameras, 6-inch displays, decent processors and adequate internal storage, with the option to expand it via microSD card.

Some of these include Asus ZenFone Max, XiaomiRedmi 9 Prime and Infinity Smart 4 Plus, which further highlights the wide range of options available in the market for consumers.

Smartphone brands are now packing as many features as possible at specific price points, in an effort to one-up their competition.

In the end, consumers are the real winners, as we can now purchase excellent smartphones under Rs. 15,000, that come with quad-rear cameras, impressive RAM sizes and faster processors.