Insights from our survey covering smartphone ownership patterns, brand loyalty, buyer behaviour and aspects people look at while buying smartphones

1. Smartphone Buyer Insights Survey
(April 2022)
Voice of 15,000+ users
India’s #1 Gadget Discovery Site

2. Objective of the survey
Key questions asked
Current brand ownership in the smartphone space
How brand loyalties are shifting
How people research for new smartphones
How people prefer to buy new smartphones
Popularity of smartphone brands by age and gender
1
2
3
4
5

3. Demographic split and methodology
Demographic Split of Respondents
Survey Methodology
Gender:
 87% men
 13% women
Age:
 32% below 18 years
 28% between 18 and 24 years
 19% between 25 and 34 years
 14% between 35 and 44 years
 7% above 44 years
Region:
 North 42%
 West 31%
 East 14%
 South 13%
 Survey was conducted via Google forms
 For response collection, survey was distributed on 91mobiles’ site and social
channels
Notes:
1) In this report, respondent data from 2021 has been compared with respondent data from 2022, where applicable,
to analyse trends
2) For slides with more than one graph, please note each graph is set at its own scale

4. Trends in smartphone ownership

5. Smartphone brands people own today
Samsung is leading the race with 17% people using its devices
Breakup of smartphone brands owned by people currently
Samsung, 17.4%
Apple, 14.3%
Xiaomi, 12.9%
Realme, 11.9%
Vivo, 11.2%
OPPO, 8.6%
OnePlus, 7.2%
POCO, 2.3%
Motorola, 1.6%
Honor / Huawei,
1.3%
iQOO, 1.2%
Tecno, 1.2%
Infinix, 1.1%
Nokia, 1.0%
ASUS, 1.0%
Google, 0.8% Micromax, 0.4% Other, 4.5%

6. Apple
7.0%
14.3%
Apr 2021 Apr 2022
% of people owning Apple devices
Smartphone brands that have gained in ownership share
(From April 2021 to April 2022)
Vivo
7.2%
11.2%
Apr 2021 Apr 2022
% of people owning Vivo devices

7. Realme
OPPO
6.7%
8.6%
Apr 2021 Apr 2022
% of people owning OPPO
devices
10.8%
11.9%
Apr 2021 Apr 2022
% of people owning Realme
devices
Smartphone brands that have gained in ownership share
(From April 2021 to April 2022)

8. Infinix
Tecno
7.1% 7.2%
Apr 2021 Apr 2022
% of people owning OnePlus
devices
OnePlus
0.7%
1.1%
Apr 2021 Apr 2022
% of people owning Infinix
devices
0.4%
1.2%
Apr 2021 Apr 2022
% of people owning Tecno
devices
Smartphone brands that have gained in ownership share
(From April 2021 to April 2022)

9. Samsung
Xiaomi
Smartphone brands that have declined in ownership share
(From April 2021 to April 2022)
21.5%
12.9%
Apr 2021 Apr 2022
% of people owning Xiaomi
devices
22.8%
17.4%
Apr 2021 Apr 2022
% of people owning Samsung
devices

10. Motorola Honor / Huawei
2.7%
1.6%
Apr 2021 Apr 2022
% of people owning Motorola
devices
2.3%
1.3%
Apr 2021 Apr 2022
% of people owning Honor/Huawei
devices
Smartphone brands that have declined in ownership share
(From April 2021 to April 2022)

11. POCO
ASUS Nokia
1.7%
1.0%
Apr 2021 Apr 2022
% of people owning ASUS
devices
2.8%
2.3%
Apr 2021 Apr 2022
% of people owning POCO
devices
1.6%
1.0%
Apr 2021 Apr 2022
% of people owning Nokia
devices
Smartphone brands that have declined in ownership share
(From April 2021 to April 2022)

12. Current brand preference: which smartphone brand people want to
own next (whenever they upgrade in the next 1 to 2 years)
Breakup of smartphone brands people plan to buy next
Apple, 27.2%
OnePlus, 15.2%
Samsung, 14.3%
Realme, 10.4%
Xiaomi, 7.3%
Vivo, 6.8%
OPPO, 5.3%
iQOO, 2.4%
POCO, 2.3%
Motorola, 2.0%
Infinix, 1.3%
Google, 1.2%
ASUS, 0.7%
Nokia, 0.5%
Micromax, 0.3%
Tecno, 0.3% Other, 2.4%

13. 15.0%
3.0%
0.7% 0.6% 0.1% 0.1%
-0.2% -0.3% -0.4% -0.7% -0.8%
-2.3%
-8.5% -8.5%
Apple Vivo Infinix OPPO Motorola Tecno OnePlus Micromax Nokia ASUS POCO Realme Samsung Xiaomi
Change in brand preference 2021 vs 2022
Which brand people said they want to own next whenever they upgrade their devices
12.2% 3.8% 0.6% 4.7% 1.9% 0.2% 15.4% 0.6% 0.9% 1.4% 3.1% 12.7% 22.8% 15.8%
27.2% 6.8% 1.3% 5.3% 2.0% 0.3% 15.2% 0.3% 0.5% 0.7% 2.3% 10.4% 14.3% 7.3%
% change in the number of people who said they want to upgrade to the
following brands when they next buy a new phone
Preferred next brand in 2021 Preferred next brand in 2022

14. Recap
o The brand with the highest share of users today: Samsung
o Brands that saw an increase in ownership share from April 2021 to April 2022:
Apple, Vivo, OPPO, Realme, Tecno, Infinix and OnePlus
o Brands that saw a decrease in ownership share from April 2021 to April 2022:
Xiaomi, Samsung, Motorola, Honor/Huawei, ASUS, POCO and Nokia
o Most preferred brand today with the highest number of users saying they want
to migrate to this brand when they upgrade next: Apple
o The brand with the highest jump in user preference from April 2021 to April
2022: Apple, followed by Vivo
o The brand with the highest fall in user preference from April 2021 to April 2022:
Xiaomi and Samsung

15. Brand loyalty among smartphone users

16. Brand loyalty / customer retention
Apple beats OnePlus as the brand with most loyal users
% of people likely to buy from the same smartphone brand when they upgrade next
87.3%
71.7%
52.4%
47.8%
43.0%
39.3% 38.3%
35.0%
32.4%
30.0% 29.9%
24.2%
18.3%
8.1%
Apple OnePlus iQOO Samsung Motorola Infinix Realme Xiaomi Vivo OPPO POCO ASUS Nokia Tecno

17. Motorola Apple OnePlus Vivo ASUS Infinix Nokia OPPO POCO Samsung Xiaomi Realme Tecno
27.3% 75.4% 67.1% 30.0% 23.0% 39.8% 25.0% 38.8% 39.8% 59.2% 46.3% 52.3% 22.7%
43.0% 87.3% 71.7% 32.4% 24.2% 39.3% 18.3% 30.0% 29.9% 47.8% 35.0% 38.3% 8.1%
Brand loyalty of current users in 2021 Brand loyalty of current users in 2022
Change in brand loyalty from last year
Motorola and Apple saw a big jump, while Realme and Tecno saw a big dip
% change in number of current users who want to buy from the same brand again
when they upgrade next
15.7%
11.9%
4.6%
2.4%
1.2%
-0.5%
-6.7%
-8.8% -9.9%
-11.3% -11.4%
-14.0% -14.6%

18. How major brands will lose when users upgrade next
Vivo users planning
to switch to
Apple 23.1%
OnePlus 12.4%
Samsung 7.8%
Samsung users
planning to switch to
Apple 15.3%
OnePlus 12.3%
Realme 6.9%
Xiaomi users
planning to switch to
OnePlus 14.6%
Apple 14.3%
Samsung 10.2%
Realme users
planning to switch to
Apple 19.8%
OnePlus 11.7%
Samsung 7.4%
OPPO users planning
to switch to
Apple 23.2%
OnePlus 12.7%
Samsung 6.3%
OnePlus users
planning to switch to
Apple 10.8%
Samsung 7.8%
Oppo 1.5%
Brand-wise % of people who wish to move to other brands from their current ones

19. Recap
o The brands with the highest customer loyalty: Apple and OnePlus
o Brands with the highest increase in customer loyalty from 2021 to 2022:
Motorola, Apple and OnePlus
o Brands with the highest decrease in customer loyalty from 2021 to 2022:
Tecno, Realme and Xiaomi

20. How people decide on a new smartphone

21. What is the main reason for you to buy a new smartphone for yourself?
My current phone is no longer
working as well as it used to,
41.7%
To own the latest or a better
smartphone, 36.1%
To avail a good deal that I
am getting on a new phone,
12.4%
Other, 9.8%
Primary reason for buying a new phone
Almost 50% people buy a new phone just for an upgrade

22. Men are more likely to buy a new phone just for an upgrade
compared to women
37%
28%
Men Women
% of people that buy a new phone just for an upgrade

23. How often do you end up changing your primary smartphone?
Within 6 months,
10.8%
6 months to 1
year, 11.4%
1 year to 2 years,
21.3%
After 2 years,
56.6%
Frequency of smartphone upgrade
Almost 45% people upgrade within 2 years, with 22% upgrading within a year

24. What is your primary source of information while deciding on a new phone?
11.5%
16.6%
21.8%
22.9%
27.2%
Check e-commerce websites
Visit offline store(s) to check options
Ask friends and family members for
recommendations
Watch video reviews on YouTube
Check gadget websites (91mobiles,
MySmartPrice, GSMArena, etc.)
How people decide on a new phone
50% people research a new phone on gadget sites or YouTube before going to the store

25. % of people that check gadget websites while deciding on a new phone
28%
18%
Men Women
Men are more likely to check gadget websites while deciding
on a new phone compared to women

26. % of people that watch YouTube videos while deciding on a new phone
24%
18%
Men Women
Men are more likely to watch YouTube videos while deciding on
a new phone compared to women

27. Recap
o Almost 50% people buy a new phone just for an upgrade
o Almost 45% people upgrade their phone within 2 years, with 22%
upgrading within a year
o 50% people research a new phone on gadget sites or YouTube
o Men are more likely to visit gadget sites or watch reviews on YouTube
before buying a new phone compared to women

28. Smartphone attributes that matter most to
people while deciding a new phone

29. Which smartphone attribute is most important to you while deciding on a
new phone?
Performance /
speed, 42.9%
Camera, 20.0%
Brand name, 17.9%
Battery, 9.7%
Design / looks,
6.4%
Display, 3.0%
Performance matters most to people while buying a new
smartphone

30. % of people that said camera matters most while deciding on a new phone
Younger people care more about camera while buying a new
phone compared to older age groups
25%
22%
17%
13%
12%
Below 18 years 18 to 24 years 25 to 34 years 35 to 44 Above 44 years

31. % of people that said performance/speed matters most while deciding on
a new phone
Men care more about performance/speed while buying a
new phone compared to women
45%
31%
Men Women

32. % of people that said camera matters most while deciding on a new
phone
19%
27%
Men Women
Women care more about camera while buying a new phone
compared to men

33. Which of these factors is most important for you while evaluating the
performance of your next smartphone?
RAM capacity (in
GB), 33.1%
Processor brand (Qualcomm
Snapdragon, MediaTek, Exynos,
etc), 31.4%
Processor clock
speed (in GHz),
18.2%
Special gaming features
(Touch response, smooth
refresh rate, shoulder triggers,
etc.), 12.3%
Benchmark scores (AnTuTu,
Geekbench, etc.), 5.0%
RAM capacity matters more to people than processor
brand while evaluating the performance of their next phone

34. Which of these is most important for you while evaluating the camera
capabilities of your next smartphone?
Resolution
(measured in
megapixels), 28.3%
Video capabilities (4k
video, slow-mo, etc.),
26.2%
Number of rear
cameras, 15.0%
AI capabilities /
software features,
14.5%
Selfie capabilities,
10.0%
Aperture (measured
in f-number), 6.0%
How people evaluate a phone’s camera capability

35. 33%
22% 21%
9% 9%
6%
28%
14%
26%
15%
6%
10%
Resolution
(measured in
megapixels)
AI capabilities /
software features
Video capabilities
(4k video, slow-
mo, etc.)
Number of rear
cameras
Aperture
(measured in f-
number)
Selfie capabilities
2021 2022
How people evaluate a phone’s camera 2021 vs 2022: video capabilities,
number of rear cameras and selfie capabilities matter more
Which of these is most important for you while evaluating the camera
capabilities of your next smartphone?

36. Which of these upcoming flagships are you most looking forward to?
30.4%
1.7%
1.9%
2.4%
3.2%
8.3%
8.7%
14.5%
29.0%
Not interested in premium phones
ASUS ROG Phone 6
Motorola Frontier
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
iQOO 10 Pro
Xiaomi 12 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S22 FE
OnePlus 10 Ultra
Apple iPhone 14 series
Upcoming flagship devices people are most excited about
Apple iPhone 14 series tops the list

37. Which of these upcoming budget / mid-range smartphones are you most
looking forward to?
29.6%
2.6%
5.4%
6.2%
8.7%
9.0%
9.4%
12.6%
16.5%
Not interested in budget or mid-range smartphones
Samsung Galaxy M13
Google Pixel 6a
Xiaomi 12 Lite 5G
Realme 10 series
OnePlus Nord CE 3
Samsung Galaxy F63 5G
OnePlus Nord 3
Redmi Note 12 Pro
Upcoming mid-range devices people are most excited about
Redmi Note 12 Pro series tops the list

38. Recap
o 43% people said performance / speed of the phone is the most important
aspect while buying a new phone
o Men care more about performance while buying a new phone compared to
women
o Women care more about camera while buying a new phone compared to men
o 33% people consider RAM capacity as the most important factor while
evaluating a phone’s performance
o 28% people consider megapixel count as the most important factor while
evaluating a phone’s camera

39. How people prefer to purchase a new
smartphone

40. How much did you pay for your current phone?
Below ₹10,000,
32.6%
Between ₹10,000
and ₹20,000,
40.9%
Between ₹20,000
and ₹30,000,
14.0%
More than
₹30,000, 12.5%
Most popular price segment for smartphones
Almost 30% people own devices priced above ₹20k

41. 85% people are planning to buy a new phone in 2022
Are you planning to buy a new phone this year?
Yes, 85.3%
Not sure,
9.6%
No, 5.1%

42. 81% people are considering buying a 5G phone next
Would you buy a 5G phone in 2022?
Yes, 70.3%
No, 19.3%
Maybe / depends on the
price, 10.5%

43. Where people would prefer to buy a new phone if…
Online and offline price
are the same
Online price is ₹1000
cheaper than offline
Offline price is ₹1000
cheaper than online
Online,
41.3%
Offline,
33.8%
Not sure,
24.9%
Online,
50.2%
Offline,
25.5%
Not sure,
24.3%
Online,
30.6%
Offline,
39.7%
Not sure,
29.7%

44. How would you pay for a new smartphone?
Pay full amount
upfront, 50.5%
Buy it on EMI through
bank credit / debit card,
19.2%
Buy it on EMI through
services like Bajaj
Finserve / ZestMoney,
14.8%
Other, 15.4%
Preferred mode of payment for a new smartphone
Almost 35% people would opt for EMIs

45. % of people that would prefer to buy a new phone on EMI through bank credit /
debit card
14%
16%
27%
28%
20%
Below 18 years 18 to 24 years 25 to 34 years 35 to 44 Above 44 years
People between 25 and 44 years are more likely to buy a new phone
on EMI using a bank’s debit / credit card compared to other age groups

46. % of people that would prefer to buy a new phone through cardless EMI services
like Bajaj Finserv / Zestmoney
12%
15%
17% 17%
16%
Below 18 years 18 to 24 years 25 to 34 years 35 to 44 Above 44 years
People between 25 and 44 years are more likely to buy a new phone
using cardless EMI services compared to other age groups

47. Will you get a new bank credit card or cardless EMI card (like Bajaj Finserv, UNI)
because it offers a good discount on a phone you want to buy?
No, 42.9%
Yes, 36.5%
Maybe,
20.6%
37% people said they would get a new bank credit card or a cardless
EMI card if it offers a good discount on a new phone they want

48. Would you buy extended warranty to protect your new phone against
spills and screen damage?
Yes, 43.9%
No, 36.7%
Maybe,
19.5%
Will people pay extra for extended warranty on their new phone
44% said they would
Note: The question told people that extended warranty can cost 7% to 10% of the phone’s price

49. 34%
44%
2021 2022
% of people that are likely to buy extended warranty to protect their new phone
against spills and screen damage
More people said they would buy extended warranty to protect
their new phone in 2022 compared to 2021

50. Younger people are more likely to buy extended warranty to protect
a new phone compared to older age groups
% of people that are likely to buy extended warranty to protect their new phone
against spills and screen damage
53%
49%
35% 33%
27%
Below 18 years 18 to 24 years 25 to 34 years 35 to 44 Above 44 years

51. Would you buy a new phone through smartphone upgrade programs such as Galaxy
Forever, Mi Smart Upgrade or Realme Real Upgrade?
Yes, 46.6%
No, 28.7%
Maybe, 24.7%
Will people buy a new phone through upgrade programs
Almost 50% said they would
Note: The question explained how an upgrade program works – one can get a new phone at ~70% of the
cost, and then upgrade after 12 months or retain the phone by paying the remaining amount)

52. 35%
47%
2021 2022
% of people that are likely to buy a new phone through smartphone upgrade
programs such as Galaxy Forever, Mi Smart Upgrade or Realme Real Upgrade
More people said they would buy a new phone through
smartphone upgrade programs in 2022 compared to 2021

53. What do you do with your old smartphone?
Keep it with me,
47.1%
Exchange it for a discount on
my new phone, 32.0%
Sell it offline, 11.2%
Sell it online on Cashify, 5.9%
Sell it online on OLX / Quikr,
3.9%
What people do with their old smartphone
32% said they would exchange it for a discount on a new phone

54. Recap
o 85% people are planning to buy a new phone in 2021
o 81% people are planning to buy a 5G phone next
o Almost 35% people would opt for EMIs to buy a new phone
o 37% people would get a new credit card or cardless EMI card for a good
discount on a new phone
o 44% people would pay extra for extended warranty on their new phone
o 47% people would buy a new smartphone through smartphone upgrade
programs
o 32% people would exchange their old smartphone for a discount on a new
phone