Cheap OnePlus TVs Starting From Rs 15,000 Will Launch In July; Realme, Xiaomi To Be Challenged?
In the September of 2019, OnePlus swooped into the smart TV segment with the launch of the OnePlus Q1 TV series. With two smart televisions in premium offerings, starting at Rs 69,900, the brand is aiming to launch an affordable smart TV in the Indian market.
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One Plus To Foray Into ‘Affordable Smart TV’ Segment!
OnePlus CEO Pete Lau took to Twitter to announce that the company will launch affordable smart TV from OnePlus on July 2 for the Indian consumers. He tweeted, “It’s official. We’re making our premium smart TV experience more accessible to our Indian community.”
Lau’s tweet clarifies that the company will not compromise on the offerings of its affordable TV and will offer premium features just as its expensive smart TVs.
The move is in line with the brand’s wide strategy to expand its customer base across ecosystem products and to tap masses.
“With better connectivity and OTT content availability, the smart TV segment has started growing and growth is happening across segments. The objective of our new strategy is to share technology with more users. In that sense, we are looking at new product lines,” OnePlus India’s chief strategy officer Navnit Nakra said. As per the ET report, Tarun Pathak of Counterpoint Research expects the demand for TVs to come back in the second half of 2020.
Jaipal Singh, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India said, “There is an installed base in India which is on CRT and non-smart TV. There’s a demand in terms of replacement driven by growth in connectivity and buying power of consumers. This is the right time to enter entry-level and mid-segments for OnePlus.”
“OnePlus has a better mind share in India, and when that happens any brand will typically look to enter new product categories or price segments,” Pathak said. He also added that OnePlus is looking for a broad ecosystem play with aggressive pricing and content.
“Replacement cycle here is 3-4 years hence features need to be significant. The more the shelf life, the better chances are there of monetizing. They can look at monetizing content through partnerships and can have various revenue-sharing deals,” Pathak further added.
Singh said that while OnePlus has a strong brand appeal in India, it needs to work on positioning the brand in the entry-level segment, especially when the market is already crowded. “Going forward bringing experience and content is going to be important for them.”
With OnePlus changing its strategy, will it lock horns with the likes of Xiaomi, Realme, TCL and VU.
Affordable Smart TV Demand In India?
A majority of smartphone manufacturers and brands are now making smart TVs in India. Brands like Realme, Nokia, and Motorola recently launched smart TVs with their name in the Indian market. Xiaomi also has a number of TV offerings in India and Aiwa also made its comeback to the country last year. Currently, Samsung leads the overall TV segment and Xiaomi leads the smart TV segment.
Earlier, Nakra told the ET that considering the rapid growth of the entry and mid-segments in India, the brand is planning to launch new TVs to diversify its offerings and reach a wider audience. As per the report, the OnePlus’ entry-level smart TV will be around $200 (Rs 15,000) whereas the mid-range TV will likely be in the Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 range.
In India, OnePlus captured 3% market share in 55 Inch and above in the smart TV segment in 2019 and maintained the 3% share in Q1 2020. OnePlus TV captured 2% market share in Rs 50,000 and above smart TV segment in 2019 and likely to increase the share steadily in 2020, as per Counterpoint.
As per Counterpoint’s January-March report, India’s entry-level smart TV segment (below Rs 20,000) amounted to 45% of the overall smart TV market, recording a massive 80% on-year growth in the first quarter of 2020. The mid-level segment (up to Rs 40,000) cornered 33% market share.
Shipments of TVs in India grew 15% annually to reach the highest-ever 15 million units in 2019, mainly driven by budget smart TVs with 32-inch TVs the leading segment, and penetrating sub-US$150 price bands, as per Counterpoint. Smart TV was the fastest-growing segment, up 25% year-on-year.
The point to be noted is that due to the severe impact of COVID-19 crisis on the economy, the non mandatory spending is at its lowest in India.
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