OnePlus Defeats Apple, Samsung In Premium Smartphone Sales – How Did This Happen?

5-year-old smartphone company from China: OnePlus has defeated 42-year-old American company Apple in India.

As per Counterpoint Research’s latest report, OnePlus is now India’s #1 premium smartphone brand, as it defeated both Apple and Samsung in this list.

How did this happen? You will soon find out!

OnePlus Is #1 Premium Smartphone Brand in India

Counterpoint Research’s latest report on premium smartphones (costing more than Rs 30,000) states that OnePlus is now India’s #1 brand in this category.

These data has been revealed for 2nd Quarter of 2018.

With a 40% share in this category, OnePlus has defeated Samsung, which is at #2 position with 34% share, and Apple which is at #3 position with a 14% market share.

Overall, OnePlus 6 was the most popular premium smartphone, as it single-handedly captured 30% market share of the entire premium smartphone category. OnePlus 5T was the third best premium smartphone, with 10% market share.

Samsung S9 Plus was the second most popular premium smartphone, with an overall market share of 12%.

How Did This Happen?

There are 4 main reasons behind OnePlus’s stunning rise in the Indian telecom sector:

Cashbacks, EMI Offers

During Q2 of 2018, 8 out of 10 premium smartphones sold had a cashback offer, and almost 30-40% of the users opted for EMI schemes. This helped OnePlus to target a very specific niche of users, who wants to have ‘affordable premium’ experience, and chose OnePlus.

Positioning

OnePlus 6 was launched at a time when Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone X, both are months away from any updates/launch, and Galaxy Note 9 will be launched in August. This left a huge void, which OnePlus perfectly filled in, with their offerings.

Powerful Community

OnePlus has leveraged the power of community, and this helped them to build a solid brand. As soon as a new model is launched, the words of mouth reviews spread fast and wide, igniting more sales.

Offline Presence

And lastly, OnePlus has focussed extensively on opening new offline outlets across India,  which have helped to increase their sales from all directions.

Other Highlights From The Report

• OnePlus is the fastest growing smartphone brand in India right now: It recorded mind-boggling 446% growth, whereas both Apple and Samsung witnessed a reduction in growth rate.
• Apple, Samsung and OnePlus collectively grabbed 88% market share of the premium smartphone market.
• New launches which hogged limelight (besides OnePlus) are: Huawei (P20), Vivo (X21), Nokia HMD (Nokia 8 Sirocco) and LG (V30 Plus)
• Samsung witnessed a negative growth rate of 25% compared to last year, but this hasn’t stopped them. They are promoting their S9 series aggressively.

You can find the complete report here.