Market research firm Counterpoint said Thursday that 5G smartphone shipments in India will surpass 4G phone shipments by the end of 2023, driven by the mass adoption of high-speed networks and rising sales of lower-priced handsets.
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Counterpoint added that 5G will also continue to drive smartphone demand in 2023, although overall smartphone shipments in India are estimated to decline this year due to component supply issues and macroeconomic factors.
India’s 5G data speeds are expected to be about 10 times faster than 4G, and the network is considered critical for emerging technologies such as self-driving cars and artificial intelligence.
Counterpoint says the share of 5G phones in the lower price bracket (under INR 20,000 or $241.55) is expected to surge from 4 percent last year to 30 percent by 2023.
India’s leading telecoms company Reliance is partnering with Alphabet Inc’s Google to launch a budget 5G smartphone after the company emerged as the biggest buyer in India’s $19 billion 5G spectrum auction in August.
Counterpoint said cumulative 5G smartphone shipments will surpass the 100 million mark in the second quarter of 2023 and surpass 4G smartphone shipments by the end of 2023.
The analyst firm expects constraints such as component supply shortages, inflation, geopolitical conflicts and limited availability of 5G networks to ease by the end of 2023, leading to mass adoption of 5G.
Meanwhile, the Indian government wants to push Apple, Samsung and other handset makers to prioritize the rollout of software upgrades to support the country’s 5G networks, as many models are not ready for the recent launch of high-speed 5G services, according to Reuters.
