The first wave of 5G-enabled smartphones is expected to arrive in India this year. A report by CyberMedia Research (CMR) reportedly suggests that the volume of such phones may reach 144 million units by 2025.
However, the first wave of 5G smartphones will only contribute to roughly 1 per cent of the shipment volumes in 2020, primarily driven by hyper-competitive market conditions with smartphone original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) aiming to establish their market leadership early. While 5G shipments will remain nascent, for early tech adopters, it represents more choices than before. The report also said that the shadow of coronavirus looms large on the Indian smartphone industry as of now.
"In 2020, India will see the first wave of 5G devices from leading smartphone OEMs, mostly Chinese, aiming to establish their 5G leadership early. We anticipate around 10-12 5G smartphone models to hit the market during the yea. With the onset of 5G, the field of play will get increasingly limited to Indian brands. Unless they start investing and upscaling their R&D and innovation efforts around 5G, they will be further marginalized,” said Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR.
He added, “China accounts for almost 85 per cent of the mobile phone components imported into India. If the coronavirus-infected lockdown in China continues, it will spell serious trouble for smartphone brands in India in H1 2020, and potentially even beyond.”
*Edited from an IANS report.