Local smartphone maker Micromax has overtaken South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung to become the leading smartphone supplier in India. The latest figures from research firm Canalys show Micromax accounted for 22 percent of India’s total smartphone sales last quarter. Samsung’s shipments, on the other hand, accounted for just 20 percent of the total 21.6 million devices sold between October and December of last year. It’s the first time ever that Micromax has beaten Samsung to the top spot, and it is further proof that the Galaxy maker is struggling to compete in emerging markets where more affordable devices — often with better specifications — are proving most popular. Almost a quarter of the devices sold in India last quarter were priced at under $100, Canalys found, while 41 percent were priced between $100 and $200. That means that only around 66 percent of smartphones sold were priced over the $200 mark. India now has the world’s second-highest number of mobile phone accounts — behind only China — and is third-biggest market by number of smartphones sold, with many consumers now upgrading to smartphones from older feature phones for the first time. The Canalys report notes that its “continuing appeal to mobile phone users upgrading to smartphones” is one of the reasons why Micromax enjoyed such success during the last quarter. Sales rose to 4.6 million units up from 4 million during the same period last year, while Samsung sold 4.4 million units, Karbonn sold 2 million units, and Lava sold 1.5 million units.
