OnePlus shipments grew 28% year on year in 2019 and captured one-third of India's premium segment, becoming the country's No. 1 brand for the first time in the high-end smartphone market, according to Counterpoint Research.
By premium segment, the report means smartphones with a retail price higher than $420. The segment in India grew 29% in 2019, hitting a record high.
Existing users upgrading and the acquisition of new consumers, led by strong word-of-mouth were the main reasons for the growth of OnePlus, the report said.
It went on:
OnePlus is continuously listening to users' feedback and bringing industry-first innovations and features. Customer feedback platforms such as the "OnePlus community" have helped the brand gauge the needs of Indian consumers.
Examples of innovations include its adoption of high refresh rate (90Hz), almost bezel-less displays and being first to launch smartphones with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 Series application processor in India.
OnePlus also became the first ever premium smartphone brand to cross two million shipments in a year in 2019. The contribution of OnePlus's ultra-premium segment (≥₹45,000 or roughly ≥US$634 retail price) to the overall OnePlus portfolio grew to 25% in 2019 driven by the OnePlus 7 Pro.
In comparison, Samsung dropped to second position and declined 2 percentage points YoY in the premium segment.
The Galaxy S10 Plus was the top-selling flagship for Samsung in 2019, despite the availability of cheaper models like Galaxy S10e.
As a result, Samsung's ultra-premium segment shipments grew by 24% YoY and the segment's contribution to Samsung's overall premium shipments reached 79% in 2019, compared to 62% in 2018.
Apple was the fastest growing premium smartphone brand in 2019 with 41% YoY driven by multiple price cuts on iPhone XR throughout the year. Apple iPhone XR was the number one ultra-premium smartphone model in India followed by Samsung's Galaxy S10 Plus and OnePlus 7 Pro, the report said.
