Counterpoint Research said that Indiaโs 5G smartphone shipments would exceed that of 4G handsets next year โ mostly because of the mass adoption of 5Gโs high-speed network across the country.
Further, OEMs focusing on budget 5G handsets will further trigger the growth of sales, while overall smartphone shipments are expected to fall. 5G is expected to drive a number of sectors in India, including AI and self-driving cars.
5G Adoption in India
India is one of the key markets for almost every tech OEM โ due to its vast population and budget focus consumers. Smartphones are among them that are often sold in millions of units every year.
Well, next year, 5G smartphone shipments in India are expected to surpass the volume of their 4G counterparts, says a Counterpoint Research report. This action will be driven by the mass adoption of 5G and the rise in the sale of handsets in the lower-price bands, notes the report.
5G is crucial for the advancement of many technologies we have today in a nascent stage. Some include driverless cars, IoT communications, and several AI applications. With OEMs stepping up the game with 5G adoption next year, India may soon see at least some of these technologies going live.
Despite 5G advancing in the country, India will see an overall decline in smartphone shipments in 2023, considering the supply chain issues and macroeconomic factors. While these are slowly settling, OEMs are expected to focus heavily on the budget 5G handset market, especially under Rs.20,000.
Reliance is one among those OEMs that partnered with Google to make ultra-budget 5G smartphones after acquiring the 5G spectrum in the country for $19 billion earlier this year.