Smartphones supporting 5G<\/a> technology in the Rs 10,000-15,000 price segment is the next big battlefield for handset brands as telecom operators gear up for the network rollout, fuelling demand for the next-generation technology.
The number of launches has already doubled from what it was last year, and industry executives believe the segment is only going to get hotter as the festive season approaches, offering options to consumers looking for future-ready devices<\/a>.
Rising inflation, increased input costs, and a weaker rupee remain key challenges, industry officials said. Also, many brands are making compromises on other specifications - be it display, battery or memory - to offer 5G handsets<\/a> at less than Rs 15,000, experts said.
\"I can clearly forecast that the Rs 10,000-15,000 segment will be dominant with 5G smartphones<\/a>,\" Realme<\/a> India CEO Madhav Sheth told ET. \"By the end of this year, you will see 5G<\/a> dominate this (price) segment.\" By Diwali, a lot of brands will target this particular price point, Sheth added.
Six new 5G smartphones<\/a> at this price range have already been launched in August alone while there were only three models last year, according to an ET analysis.
\"According to platform sales trends, the demand for 5G smartphones in the Rs 10,000-15,000 has seen nearly a 4X growth in the first half of 2022 as against the same period last year,\" leading ecommerce platform Flipkart said.
5G penetration in that price segment, even if it is minuscule with 6% of the market as of the second quarter of 2022, has doubled from 3% in the last quarter of 2021, according to Counterpoint Research<\/a>, while CMR pegged it at 4% in the second quarter against 3% in the first quarter.
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Better Penetration in Next Few Qtrs<\/strong>
The penetration is expected to jump in the next few quarters, and surge next year.
\"We anticipate the 5G momentum to gain strength in sub-Rs 15,000 over the next few quarters, and potentially breach the 20% threshold by mid to late 2023,\" said Prabhu Ram, head, industry intelligence group, at CMR. \"By end-2022, we anticipate the 5G share to be around 10%.\"
According to CMR, Poco<\/a> leads that segment with 74% market share in Q2 2022, followed by Xiaomi<\/a> with 20% share and Infinix with 6% share.
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