The Indian smartphone market made a 0.7 percent increase from September to October, vaulting the nation over the 1 billion user threshold to 1.03 billion users. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India just released this information yesterday, making India the second country in the world to reach this milestone.
Anyone care to take a guess at what that first country was? Anyone? Anyone?
See also: Sundar Pichai talks new internet initiatives for India1
India’s population, which triples that of the United States, has created a ravenous market for the smartphone industry. Whereas the US really only has four major carriers, a proportional twelve battle over subscribers and contract holders in India. This fierce competition combines with other factors to make India’s phone bills some of the least expensive in the world. It’s no surprise that smartphone manufacturers and service providers in every time zone are turning an interested eye to this smartphone-hungry nation.
Although the US remains a major market for flagship and high-end devices, mid-range and entry-level manufacturers are having far more success in the continent of Asia. Bulk sales and mass usership speak for themselves. After all, India has had more smartphone users than the US since – are you ready for this? – 2008. In the ~8 years between then and now, US smartphone usage has increased only by about 100 million users. In the same time frame, India has seen a number of new smartphone subscribers that surpasses the total population of the United States. Almost times two.
So for all you Westerners thinking your market is the center of the smartphone world… You might want to reconsider your worldview.
What are your thoughts regarding India’s explosive growth in smartphone adoption? Let us know in the comments below!
(Oh, and it was China, obviously. China hit a billion users all the way back in 2012. Didn’t want to leave you hanging.)
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