New Delhi, Nov 9 (TIWN) 5G smartphone shipments in India grew to 30 per cent (year-on-year) in Q3 2022, while smartphone shipments declined 12 per cent (year-on-year), and on a quarter-on-quarter basis, smartphone shipments recorded a 16 per cent growth, a report said on Wednesday.

The recent 5G auctions and the subsequent rollout of 5G networks by Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio resulted in an increased demand for 5G smartphones, with the segment growing at 30% on-year in the July-August period. The research firm also noted a sharp rise in the shipments of premium smartphones during the quarter.  "On the back of the recent 5G auctions, shipments of 5G smartphones continued to gain momentum during the quarter. Driven by the festive season sales, consumer appetite for 5G, value for money and premium smartphones saw a strong growth," said Menka Kumari, analyst at CMR.  "Interestingly, the uber-premium 5G smartphone (upwards of Rs 1,00,000) segment grew 170% YoY," she added.  This, while shipments in the affordable smartphone segment (under Rs 7,000) fell sharply by 57% on-year. However, CMR notes consumer demand was strong in the value-for-money segment (Rs 7000- Rs 25,000) with 79% of the smartphone shipments belonging to this segment.  The premium segment (Rs 25,000-Rs 50,000) grew modestly at 9% on-year while smartphones priced between Rs 50,000 – Rs 1,00,000 grew at 39% on-year in the third quarter.  CMR said it expects strong smartphone shipments in early Q4 2022 on the back of the festive season momentum. However, it expects the shadow of adverse macroeconomic conditions to persist. The research firm expects annual shipments to hover around 160-165 million units, which is around 10-15 million units lower than the previous estimate.