Smartphone shipments in India hit a record high during the third quarter as dealers jacked up their stocks ahead of the festive season demand.

The big billion sales announced by online retailers such as Flipkart and Amazon also boosted the demand for smartphones during the period.

According to a preliminary analysis done by Counterpoint Research, the overall smartphone market in India grew by 25 per cent year on year (YoY) to hit a record high of 35 million handsets in the third quarter of 2016 with the Chinese handset makers like Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo gaining market share at the cost of South Korean manufacturer Samsung.

While Samsung still dominates the smartphone market in India, its total market share fell to 21 per cent in Q3 from 26 per cent recorded in Q2 2016. Indian handset maker Micromax ranks second with a market share of 9.8 per cent followed by Lenovo and Lyf (Jio) enjoying a market share of 8.9 per cent and 6.7 per cent respectively.

“Chinese manufacturers like Oppo and Vivo are spending heavily to expand their distribution channel across the country. Along with Xiaomi, they are offering premium hardware at affordable prices. Their focus is more on the mid level segment ranging from Rs 8,000 – Rs 15,000,” said Shobhit Srivastava, research associate, mobile devices and ecosystems, Counterpoint Research.

However, he added that these figures are based on the preliminary findings and final numbers could see some change.

Another interesting highlight of the findings is the impressive growth registered by Lyf mobile phones launched by RJio.

The 4G services provided by Jio free of cost till the end of December 2016 coupled with the launch of 4G enabled phones priced at less than Rs 3,000 helped it to attract customers.