Indian Smartphone Market Declines, While Apple Records Strong YoY Growth in January 2025: IDC

Apple posted strong year-on-year (YoY) growth numbers in January 2025, according to a report by a market research firm. However, the overall Indian smartphone market witnessed a decline in shipments. The decline is said to be driven by weak consumer demand in the first month of the year. It was also impacted by last year’s surplus inventory, the report claimed. Due to its strong shipping numbers, the Cupertino-based tech giant was able to secure a top five position in the market in January.

Indian Smartphone Market Witness a YoY Decline in January 2025

According to an International Data Corporation (IDC) report, posted on LinkedIn, smartphone brands shipped a total of 11.1 million units in January, noting a decline of 9.7 percent compared to the same month in 2024. The decline follows a cyclical dip in the fourth quarter of 2024, also reported by IDC. Notably, in 2024, the Indian smartphone market totalled a four percent YoY growth in shipments.

January was also marked by the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, as well as several mid-range smartphones. Despite that, the report claimed that consumer demand remained weak and smartphone makers did not ship a high number of units due to a surplus inventory from late 2024. IDC did not highlight any long term concerns despite these numbers.

Despite launching its flagship smartphone series, Samsung witnessed the biggest YoY decline of 19.5 percent in shipments in January 2025. However, it is noted that the Galaxy S25 series did not go on sale till February 7. Apart from the South Korean tech giant, Vivo noted a YoY decline of 8.1 percent and Realme posted a YoY decline of 5.3 percent in the same period.

Apple emerged as the strongest player in January with a YoY growth of 11.7 percent in shipments. IDC highlighted that the increase in shipments also secured the brand a top-five spot in the Indian smartphone market. This was the fifth consecutive month when the iPhone maker held onto this position.

Oppo was the only other smartphone brand to post positive YoY shipments numbers in January with an increase of 5.3 percent. Despite these numbers, Vivo continues to capture the top market share in India, followed by Samsung, Oppo, Apple, and Realme, respectively.