Despite getting hiked in price for every generation, OnePlus smartphones have continued to sell well and that is evident with its current flagship, the OnePlus 8 series. Counterpoint Research has revealed that the company has captured the top position in the premium smartphone market in Q2 2020.
According to the research, the premium segment which usually sits around ₹30,000 ($400) or higher in India, saw a 32% YoY decline for Q2 2020. This could be due to lockdown imposed for the entirety of April and early May resulting in almost 40 days of zero shipments.
However, the segment whose share is usually less in the overall smartphone market, contributed more than 4% as the demand went up with the launch of OnePlus 8 series and Apple's affordable iPhone SE 2020. This demand, with a loyal fanbase, and OnePlus 8's features helped the company to gain a market share of 29% in Q2 slipping Samsung to second place.
Despite getting criticised for sub-par cameras, the OnePlus 8 gained the top spot with a 19% share in the segment while the second and third spots are occupied by Vivo's V19 and Samsung with a share of 15 and 12% respectively. That's not all as the company's OnePlus 8 Pro also managed to grab the 2nd spot in the Ultra-Premium category (₹45,000 ($600) or higher) sitting below Apple which retained the top spot with a 42% share.
Though the premium segment saw new entrants like Xiaomi's Mi10 and Oppo's Find X2 Pro, OnePlus's dominance has made even the Apple's iPhone 11 slip from a top position in Q1 to a disastrous fifth spot. This shows that both Apple and Samsung are no longer the only tenants in the segment.
With 5G becoming the new norm for the premium segment in 2020, both the Silicon Valley and South Korean giants, who haven't ventured into the latest connectivity yet, are likely to face more heat from rivals like OnePlus.
