The Indian smartphone market is one of the most lucrative markets in the world. In fact, this market is only second to the complex Chinese smartphone market globally. However, the Indian smartphone market has a trend. A huge number of smartphone buyers in India focus on cheap smartphones. At best, mid-range smartphones. The Indian smartphone market is the only market among the top three smartphone markets globally that pays more attention to cheaper devices. This is not entirely a good thing. This is because smartphone brands will be forced to release devices with the poorest specifications and hardware in India. To avert this, the Indian government may set a price limit for smartphones.
According to reports, India intends to restrict Chinese mainland smartphone manufacturers from selling devices below 12,000 Indian rupees (about $150). Of course, we all know that Chinese brands are the major sellers of such devices. The price limit for smartphones will promote the development of India’s domestic mobile phone industry.
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The price limit for smartphones does not affect Indian brands
The move by Indian authorities aims at squeezing mainland Chinese mobile phone giants out of the country’s low-end market. This is because they are growing concerns that brands such as Realme and Transsion will squeeze Indian manufacturers. Thus, such cheap smartphones below $150 will only come from Indian brands.
Counterpoint data shows that as of the second quarter of June 2022, smartphones under $150 account for one-third of India’s sales. Of the total sales of these smartphones, Chinese companies account for 80% of shipments.
In addition, India has carried out several enforcement actions against Chinese mobile phone companies recently, including Xiaomi, Vivo, OPPO, etc. On July 29, India also banned the Indian version of the “PUBG Mobile” mobile game “Battlegrounds Mobile India” again.
The report believes that the move should not affect Apple or Samsung. This is because these brands never release such cheap devices. However, it should affect the likes of Xiaomi, Realme and Transsion. As of now, there is no official response from these companies.