iPhone 16 Becomes India's Top-Selling Smartphone, Drives Record Q1 Shipments for Apple: IDC Report

Apple has emerged as the biggest gainer in India’s smartphone market for the first quarter of 2025, according to the latest report from IDC. The iPhone 16 became the most shipped smartphone in the country, helping Apple achieve its highest-ever Q1 shipments — three million units — and an impressive 23% year-on-year (YoY) growth among the top five brands.

India Smartphone Market Sees Second Straight Decline

Despite Apple’s success, India’s overall smartphone market saw a 5.5% YoY decline, shipping 32 million units in Q1 2025. This marks the second consecutive quarter of decline, attributed to weak consumer demand and high inventory carryover from the previous quarter.

“The first two months of 2025 had limited new launches, with brands focusing on discounts and retail support to clear older stock. However, March saw a flurry of new product launches across price segments, backed by aggressive marketing to boost sales,” said Aditya Rampal, Senior Market Analyst, Devices Research, IDC Asia Pacific.

iPhone 16 Leads Premium Segment Surge

Average selling prices (ASPs) hit a record US$274, growing 4% YoY. The mass-budget segment (US$100–$200) witnessed a steep 21.9% YoY decline, with its share dropping from 48% to 40%. In contrast, the premium segment (US$600–$800) surged by 78.6%, now making up 4% of total shipments, up from 2%. Notably, the iPhone 16 alone accounted for 32% of shipments in this premium bracket.

The mid-premium segment (US$400–$600) also performed well, growing 74% YoY, with its share doubling to 6%. Apple and Samsung led this segment, driven by the popularity of the iPhone 13 and Galaxy A56.

5G Adoption Grows Sharply

India’s transition to 5G continues at pace. Out of the 32 million smartphones shipped, 29 million were 5G-enabled — making up 88% of all shipments, a jump from 69% in Q1 2024. ASPs in the 5G category declined 11% YoY to US$300, driven by affordable models.

The sub-US$100 5G segment rose to 7% of overall 5G shipments, spurred by new value-focused launches. Meanwhile, 45% of 5G devices sold were in the mass-budget segment. The top 5G models in Q1 2025 included the Apple iPhone 16, Xiaomi Redmi 14C, OPPO K12x/A3x, and realme 14x.

Chipset Trends: Qualcomm Gains, MediaTek Declines

Qualcomm-based smartphones saw significant growth, rising 40.8% YoY and claiming a 31.8% market share — boosted by affordable options like the Redmi 14C. MediaTek, on the other hand, faced a shipment decline of 25.5% YoY, bringing its share down to 43.6% from 55.3%.

Offline Sales Rise as Online Channels Shrink

Offline smartphone sales grew 10% YoY in Q1 2025, raising their share to 58.1%, while online channel shipments dropped 21.1%, reaching their lowest share since Q3 2019 at 41.9%.

This shift is a result of brands executing omnichannel strategies, expanding into Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns, and offering better margins to offline partners. vivo remained the top brand in offline channels, followed by OPPO and Samsung. In online channels, Samsung led the pack, followed by Motorola and realme — which climbed to the third spot from the previous quarter.