OnePlus smartphone sales in India are nearly double that of Apple and Samsung

• OnePlus is leading the premium smartphone segment in India this quarter consolidating 42% of the market share, taking the lead back from Samsung.
• This is OnePlus' higher ever market share in the Indian market.
• It's also the first time that OnePlus has a 26% market share in the ultra premium segment after the launch of the OnePlus 7 Pro cracking the ₹45,000 plus category of phones.

OnePlus is leading the premium segment in India and has captured a massive 42% market share. The brands growth was driven by the launch of OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro in the country during the second quarter of 2019, according to Counterpoint Research.

It is the highest market share that Chinese smartphone maker has ever had in the country.

It's also the first time that OnePlus managed to break into the elite club of the 'ultra premium segment'. It has gained a sizeable market share in the category which includes phones that cost upwards of ₹45,000 with the launch of the OnePlus 7 Pro.

"OnePlus has more than 60% market share in the ₹30,000 - ₹45,000 segment and with the launch of OnePlus 7 Pro, we have a 26% market share in the ₹45,0000 plus segment. Collectively we have 42% market share overall, with a clear lead in ₹30,000 - ₹45,000 segment," Vikas Agarwal, the General Manager of OnePlus India told Business Insider India.

Samsung slipped to 22% market share in the segment registering an yearly drop in shipments of 16% and now is on par with Apple at 21% market share.

The premium sector, as a whole, registered a yearly growth rate of 33% with users have more options in the premium segment than in any other quarter.

Regaining the lead from Samsung

Samsung has led the premium smartphone segment last quarter after launching the Samsung S10 Plus. The South Korean major tends to rule in the first quarter as it normally launches a flagship device around that time.

Sales are generally slow for most premium brands in the first quarter of the year. Samsung is an exception to the trend since it typically launches its premium flagship device right before.

"There's always a spike in demand whenever you have a new product launch. It's why the market share changes in the premium segment every quarter," says Agarwal.

As Samsung made its phones cheaper, OnePlus launched a phone that was expensive tilting the balance in the segment.

"A lot of users have not been using OnePlus despite them wanting to but we do not have a product in the segment with kind of specifications that they're looking for. So, this year we decided to launch an ultra premium product that caters to those users who want to have a more premium experience," explains Agarwal.

Diversifying the variants of its device allowed OnePlus to go from zero market share in Q1 2019 to 26% share in the ultra premium segment in a mere three months.

Upcoming launches

"Currently, we don't see the need to have more premium devices. If you see the overall market, it's still less than 5%. Within this 5%, we now have devices that cater to the top 2% and the next 3%," shares Agarwal.

OnePlus has no plans to develop more premium smartphones and no plans to expand into other segments either.

"OnePlus has always remained focused on the premium segment because we feel have a better understanding of the market in terms of customer expectations," shared Agarwal.

The 'very young company' doesn't have the resources to support multiple product lines.

So, even though OnePlus won't be expanding its portfolio with new smartphones — it still has plans to launch new products.

"One of the things that we're doing is the Smart TV. We see a huge opportunity in the Smart TV space. Based on the trends that we've observed, a lot of users want to consume entertainment on smart devices," says Agarwal.

Despite the launch two devices in the first half of 2019, it's still likely that we're going to see a Diwali launch by OnePlus of upgraded variants of the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro.