The smartphone market changed dynamically in 2018 and we got to see a number of new innovations in devices. Here, we have listed down 12 trends the Indian mobile phone industry saw in 2018. The trends listed here have been observed by smartphone recommendations platform, PhoneCurry. These observations are claimed to have been derived from the behavioural mapping from 2.2 million users who used PhoneCurry in 2018 to decide which phone to buy. Take a look at the trends here:
This segment saw the most number of smartphone launches
According to PhoneCurry, around 75% of the smartphones launched in the Indian market were priced below Rs 20,000. And we have to admit, the budget segment of the Indian smartphone market did see some great additions in 2018 including Nokia 6.1 Plus, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 and Zenfone Max Pro M2, Motorola One Power and Honor 8X.
This technology giant launched the most number of smartphones in the country
The smartphone maker that launched the maximum number of devices in India in 2018 was Samsung. According to the data shared with us, Samsung launched 33 smartphones in India in 2018 and also happened to cover the widest price sweep.
‘Phablets’ became the ‘new smartphones’
Smartphones with over 5.6-inch displays were considered to be phablets by most in 2017. However, this changed in 2018 as around 61% of the devices that were launched had a display that was 5.6-inches in size or bigger, according to PhoneCurry. So, it’s safe to say that what would have been considered to be phablets in 2017 were smartphones of 2018.
Tall displays were a hit
If there was one very prominent trend that the Indian smartphone industry saw in 2018, it was the thinning down of bezels. Smartphone makers even shrank the size of notches on their devices and some completely removed them. All of this was done to provide users with a full-screen experience. According to PhoneCurry, 92% of the smartphones launched came with an aspect ratio of 18:9 or more. And among these, around 59% of the smartphones came with a notch on the top of the display.
Smartphone makers started taking this aspect seriously
Data from PhoneCurry says that average battery capacity in smartphones increased by about 10%. The platform has also said that a majority of smartphones priced above Rs 20,000 came with support for Quick charging.
Most smartphones in this segment came with a USB Type-C port and a headphone jack
Let’s admit it: MicroUSB is a dying port. At least in the premium segment, it is. And this isn’t just our opinion. Data from PhoneCurry supports our statement as it says that around 87% of the smartphones priced over Rs 30,000 came with a USB Type-C port. Another prominent trend among devices launched in this segment is that that they are switching away from the headphone jack.
Dual rear cameras finally started becoming mainstream
Another very important observation that has been shared by PhoneCurry is the fact that almost half of the smartphones launched in 2018 came with dual rear cameras. This isn’t something surprising as the year saw a number of photography-centric smartphones getting launched including Samsung Galaxy A9 (review), which is the world’s first smartphone to come with four rear cameras on the back.
Premium smartphones came with this important feature
We feel that water resistance is one among the key features a smartphone can have. It automatically gets additional marks from us because users don’t have to be super-careful while using them. And according to PhoneCurry, in 2018, a majority of smartphones priced above Rs 30,000 were water resistant.
This is what happened in the age-old rivalry between iPhones and Android smartphones
This one will not come as a surprise as customers’ interest in iPhones declined this year. The exorbitant pricing of the latest lineup may be responsible for it, but it did give an edge to Android smartphones.
This Chinese brand sold the most number of smartphones
According to data from various research firms, Xiaomi dominated the budget segment of the Indian smartphone market in 2018. And now, PhoneCurry has said that the company happens to have sold the most number of smartphones in India in 2018.
The highest rated smartphone brand of 2018 is…
Xiaomi may have been the brand that sold the most number of smartphones, but that doesn’t make it the one with the highest rating. The data by PhoneCurry reveals that OnePlus took away that spot as users gave it the highest rating. In fact, Xiaomi even failed to grab the second position on this list as that was taken by Oppo’s sub-brand Realme.
Online shoppers had this preference when it came to buying smartphones
Watch out Amazon! You weren’t the most preferred platform for shopping for smartphones this year. The findings by PhoneCurry reveal that online shoppers preferred Flipkart the most when it came to smartphone shopping, followed by Amazon India and Paytm.
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