NEW DELHI: India’s smartphone market declined 1% year-on-year to 38 million units in Q1 2022 due to ongoing component shortages coupled with a decrease in demand during the third Covid-19 wave, according to Counterpoint Research<\/a>.

India’s overall mobile handset market declined 16% year-on-year in Q1 2022. The feature phone market registered a decline of 39% YoY. Supply issues, high inventory levels and softening of consumer demand due to high inflation were the major reasons for this decline. itel led the feature phone market in Q1 2022 with a 21% share, Counterpoint added.

The market has recorded its first-ever Q1 decline in Q1 of 2022, said Prachir Singh, Senior Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research.

“The quarter started on a slower note due to the third Covid-19 wave. However, demand picked up in the fourth week of January. The component issues were a major reason for this decline and affected almost all the brands,” Singh said.

He added that original equipment manufacturers are adopting various strategies to tackle supply issues, such as expanding supplier portfolio and increasing local sourcing.

Data by research firms indicate that the smartphone market in the country has declined on a year-on-year basis in the quarter ended March 31.

Canalys has said the India smartphone market<\/a> grew by just 2% year-on-year in Q1 2022 and shipped 38 million units while Strategy Analytics has pegged the year-on-year decline at 3%.

Xiaomi<\/a> was the top smartphone vendor in Q1 2022 (by shipments), though it declined by 13% year-on-year. Samsung<\/a> recaptured the second spot with a 1% year-on-year decline while Realme<\/a> was the only brand among the top five players to record year-on-year growth (40%), Counterpoint said.