There is little doubt that 2014 was a transformative year for the Indian smartphone industry. While the market grew substantially in terms of customer uptake and vibrancy of brands & devices, the coming of new brands, innovative online-only business models, and the rise of the ‘giant-killer’ budget and mid-range devices, turned things topsy-turvy. At 91mobiles, we maintain a detailed catalogue of all devices launched in India since 2010, along with their prices, and detailed specifications. Over 40 mn annual visitors on 91mobiles also give us an indication of the popularity of various devices, brands and price segments. We have crunched this data in the latest instalment of our report on the smartphone landscape in India, to come up with most interesting trends of 2014.

1. Mobile phone landscape:
India 2014
Launch and search trends
The #1 Gadget Research Website in India
Nitansh Rastogi, Correspondent

2. 91mobiles is the leading research and
comparison website for mobile phones &
gadgets in India
The 91mobiles catalog contains over
20,000 devices launched since the
website’s inception in 2010; includes
practically every mobile phone launched in
India over the last 3 to 4 years
Over 40 million people visited 91mobiles
in 2014 and made over 100 searches for
mobile phones
This report provides insights pertaining to mobile phone launches in 2014, their specifications,
search trends seen on 91mobiles, and an outlook for 2015
2
About 91mobiles and this report

3. The year saw the Indian smartphone industry
turn around on its head >
2014:
A LANDMARK
YEAR

4. 1,137
Total phone
launches in
2014
95 brands in India
64 Indian brands | 31 International brands
~19%
growth
957
Total phone
launches in
2013
4
Number of phone launches grew ~20% in 2014

5. New and resurgent brands such as Xiaomi, Motorola and
Lenovo grew sharply in popularity
8%
12%
22%
27%
31%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
New brands: Motorola, Xiaomi, ASUS, OnePlus
Resurgent brands: Lenovo and Huawei
5
Share of popularity* of devices by new / resurgent brands in 2014
*Popularity as measured by searches

6. Some of these brands adopted the online-only sales model,
which accounted for 20% of all searches by Dec’ 14
4%
12%
17%
20%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Moto G launched
Xiaomi Mi 3 launched
Redmi Note, OnePlus One,
Nexus 6 launched
Moto E launched
6
Share of popularity* of devices that are selling exclusively online in 2014
Xiaomi Redmi 1s
launched
*Popularity as measured by searches

7. All this put top brands under pressure, with most witnessing
a decline in relative mindshare
20.1%
12.3% 12.3%
7.8%
4.9%
16.5%
11.2%
10.7%
6.9%
5.7%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
Samsung Nokia Micromax Sony HTC
2013 2014
7
% of searches for devices from the top five brands in 2013 and 2014

8. New brands mainly targeted the budget segment (Rs 5k-
15k)
Number of devices launched in 2014 by new entrants
2
4
4
5
2
10
1
2
2
3
3
2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Motorola
Xiaomi
ASUS
OPPO
Obi
Some other brands that entered the Indian market in 2014: Acer, HP, Philips, OnePlus, vivo and AOC among others
8
5k – 15k
15k – 25k
25k – 35k
Above 35k
Below 5k
Note: Motorola re-entered the Indian market in 2014

9. Popularity of devices based on different price segments in 2014 vs 2013
9
With a surge in value-for-money devices, the budget
segment (Rs 5k-15k) grew substantially in popularity
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2013 2014
<5k 5k-15k 15k-25k 25k-35k >35k
46%
20%
6%
23%
4%
59%
20%
4%
15%
1%

10. As a result, the average selling price of smartphones fell by
19% over the course of the year
Rs 8,118
Rs 8,417
Rs 8,099
Rs 6,579 Rs 6,603
6,000
6,500
7,000
7,500
8,000
8,500
9,000
Average selling price of smartphones purchased* in 2014
10
*purchased on major ecommerce stores via 91mobiles.com
Moto E, Micromax
Unite 2 launched
Xiaomi Redmi 1s
launched
Moto G launched
Xiaomi Mi 3, ASUS
Zenfone range
launched

11. However, the Android One initiative had limited success, with only the
Canvas A1 getting meaningful recognition
Popularity of smartphones below Rs 8,000 September 1st onwards
The Android One initiative was launched in September 2014; Other Android One devices (Karbonn Sparkle V
and Spice Dream UNO) weren’t even on the list of top 100 products basis popularity on 91mobiles.com
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
Samsung
Galaxy Core 2
Xiaomi Redmi
1s
Micromax
Unite 2
Moto E Micromax
Canvas Fire 2
Micromax
Canvas A1
Samsung
Galaxy Star
Advance
Numberofsearchesinthousands
Note: The Samsung Galaxy
Core 2 received a price cut in
September, bringing it under
Rs. 8k
11

12. Powerful specs trickled down into the budget realm: now
available in a smartphone under Rs. 10k
12
Karbonn Titanium S7
Rs 14,999
Intex Aqua Octa
Rs 19,999
Champion
Trendy 531
~Rs 13,000
Videocon A47
Rs 5,500
Micromax Canvas
Turbo
Rs 19,990
2014
Cheapest Full HD phone
Cheapest quad-core phone
Cheapest octa-core phone
Cheapest phone with 2GB
RAM
Cheapest phone with 13MP
camera
Spice Mi-549
Rs 7,999
iBall Andi 5K Panther
Rs 7,200
Karbonn
Titanium S25 Klick
~Rs 7,500
Lava Iris 352 Flair
Rs 3,500
Xiaomi Redmi Note
Rs 8,999
2013

13. Despite the smartphone segment being abuzz, feature phone launches
kept growing
391
566
446
691
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Feature phones Smartphones
2013 2014
Feature phones and smartphones launched in 2014 and 2013
13

14. 2014 saw a bevy of phone launches and entry
of new brands >
MARKET
WATCH

15. Smartphones launched by Indian & international brands in 2013 and 2014
15
Indian brands continued to dominate the number of
smartphone launches
384
476
182
215
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
2013 2014
Indian International
32%

16. 60%
40%
68%
32%
16
13
264
202
15
219
150
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
15k-25k
5k-15k
<5k
2013 2014
Price-wise distribution of smartphone launches by Indian brands in 2013 vs 2014
Indian brands grew in the sub-15k range, but felt the heat from
international names in the 15k+ segment
35% growth
21% growth
13% decline

17. 60%
40%
68%
32%
17
27
18
50
104
13
18
18
31
80
52
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
>35k
25k-35k
15k-25k
5k-15k
<5k
2013 2014
-75% decline
30% growth
Price-wise distribution of smartphone launches by Indian brands in 2013 vs 2014
International brands virtually vacated the entry-level segment (below Rs
5k) and shifted their focus to higher-range devices
61% growth
50% growth

18. 18
Top brands by number of smartphone launches in 2014
51
49 48
39
34 33
25 24
19
16
Karbonn Intex Micromax Lava XOLO Spice Celkon IBall Samsung LG
Karbonn & other Indian brands led the charge with the
maximum number of smartphone launches in 2014

19. Top brands by number of smartphone launches above Rs 15,000 (in 2014)
19
International brands dominated when it came to launches
priced above Rs 15,000
12 12 12
10
7 7
6 6
5
4
Samsung LG HTC Sony Apple OPPO Gionee Lenovo Micromax Huawei
All storage variants of a device are considered as a separate launch. Apple launched three storage models for both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6
Plus, along with iPhone 5c 8GB version in 2014.

20. Samsung focussed in the above 25k segment, and reduced
launches in all segments below 25k
2
8
4
3
4
8
11
8
0
5
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Below 5k
5k-15k
15k-25k
25k-35k
Above 35k
2013
2014
Price-wise distribution of phone launches by Samsung in 2013 vs 2014
20

21. HTC, on the other hand, shifted its focus from premium segment to the
affordable (Rs 5k-15k) and mid-range (Rs 15k-25k) segments
0
4
6
2
3
0
2
3
3
5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Below 5k
5k-15k
15k-25k
25k-35k
Above 35k
2013
2014
Price-wise distribution of phone launches by HTC in 2013 vs 2014
21

22. Sony put more emphasis on the mid-range segment (Rs
15k-25k)
0
5
5
1
4
0
4
2
2
3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Below 5k
5k-15k
15k-25k
25k-35k
Above 35k
2013
2014
Price-wise distribution of phone launches by Sony in 2013 vs 2014
22

23. Nokia also focused on the voluminous budget territory (Rs
5k -15k)
7
11
1
1
1
8
7
4
1
1
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Below 5k
5k-15k
15k-25k
25k-35k
Above 35k
2013
2014
Price-wise distribution of phone launches by Nokia in 2013 vs 2014
23
The list also includes the Lumia 535 and Lumia 638, which were launched under the Microsoft branding

24. Micromax started moving up the value chain from feature
phones to smartphones
31
33
5
0
0
35
18
2
0
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Below 5k
5k-15k
15k-25k
25k-35k
Above 35k
2013
2014
Price-wise distribution of phone launches by Micromax in 2013 vs 2014
24

25. Popularity of brands & devices
based on over 100 million searches
on 91mobiles.com >
2014
REPORT
CARD

26. Most popular brands in 2014: the table-toppers maintained their
positions; Motorola gained an entry
26
S. No. Brand Percentage of searches
in 2014
1
16.53%
2
11.22%
3
10.71%
4
6.92%
5
5.74%
6
4.23%
7
4.04%
8
4.01%
9
3.41%
10
3.19%

27. Tracing Samsung’s journey in 2014: saw highs ahead of its
flagship launches
1000
1050
1100
1150
1200
1250
Numberofsearchesinthousands
27
Galaxy S5
launched
 Galaxy Note 4
launched
 Galaxy Core 2
received price cut
Popularity of Samsung devices in 2014 based on number of user searches

28. Tracing Nokia’s journey in 2014: going downhill, with the
only saviour being its surprise hit, the Nokia X series
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
Numberofsearchesinthousands
28
Nokia X launched
Nokia XL launched
Popularity of Nokia devices in 2014 based on number of user searches

29. Tracing Micromax’s journey in 2014*: ended the year on a
higher note than it started
500
550
600
650
700
750
800
850
900
950
Numberofsearchesinthousands
29
Unite 2 launched
Canvas Nitro,
Canvas A1 launched
in September
Popularity of Micromax devices in 2014 based on number of user searches

30. Tracing Sony’s journey in 2014*: good start to the year, but
felt pressure from new brands towards the end
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
650
700
Numberofsearchesinthousands
30
Xperia Z2 launched
Popularity of Sony devices in 2014 based on number of user searches

31. Tracing HTC’s journey in 2014: climbing steadily upwards
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Numberofsearchesinthousands
31
 Desire 816
remained
popular
 Desire 616
launched
Desire 816
launched
 Desire 816
remained
popular
 Desire 820
launched
Popularity of
Desire 820
and 816G
Popularity of HTC devices in 2014 based on number of user searches

32. Tracing Apple’s journey in 2014*: compensates for the whole year
within a month, when it launches the new iPhone(s)
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Numberofsearchesinthousands
32
Apple iPhone 6, 6
Plus introduced
Popularity of Apple devices in 2014 based on number of user searches

33. Nokia XL
Launched in:
May 2014
#1 #2
#3 #4 #5
33
Most popular phones in the budget range
(Rs 5k-15k): Samsung rules the segment
On the basis of popularity on 91mobiles.com
Samsung
Galaxy
Core 2
Launched in:
Jul 2014
Moto E
Launched in:
May 2014
Micromax
Unite 2
Launched in:
May 2014
Samsung
Galaxy
S Duos
Launched in:
Sept 2014

34. 34
Most popular phones in the mid-range segment (Rs 15k-
25k): a mixed lot spanning different brands
Samsung
Galaxy
Grand 2
Launched in:
Jan 2014
#1 #2
#3 #4 #5
On the basis of popularity on 91mobiles.com
Sony
Xperia C
Launched in:
Oct 2013
Xiaomi
Mi 4
Yet to launch
Blackberry
Z3
Launched in:
May 2014
Samsung
Galaxy
Grand Neo
Launched in:
Mar 2014

35. 35
Most searched phones in the high-end segment
(Rs 25k-35k): old remains gold
Samsung
Galaxy S4
Launched in:
Apr 2013
#1 #2
#3 #4 #5
On the basis of popularity on 91mobiles.com
HTC One
Launched in:
Apr 2013
Sony
Xperia Z
Launched in:
Mar 2013
Google
Nexus 5
Launched in:
Nov 2013
Samsung
Galaxy
S5 Mini
Launched in:
Sept 2014
Most devices in
this list are former
flagship devices
that retained, or
grew in popularity
long after their
launch by virtue of
price drops.

36. 36
Most searched phones in the premium segment (above Rs
35k): Samsung and Apple rule the roost
Apple
iPhone 6
Launched in:
Nov 2014
#1 #2
#3 #4 #5
On the basis of popularity on 91mobiles.com
Samsung
Galaxy S5
Launched in:
Apr 2014
Sony
Xperia Z2
Launched in:
Apr 2014
Samsung
Galaxy
Note 4
Launched in:
Oct 2014
Apple
iPhone 5s
Launched in:
Nov 2013

37. 91mobiles Critics Awards
37
Read more about 2014’s 91mobiles awards winners and nominees
Best smartphone
from an Indian brand!
Sexiest phone
of the year!
Game-changer of the year!
Tie
Most innovative
smartphone of the year!

38. 91mobiles Critics Awards
38
Read more about 2014’s 91mobiles awards winners and nominees
Phone of the year!
Also, best camera phone of the year!
Best value-for-money
smartphone of the year!
Best budget
smartphone of the year!

39. 39
Editor’s picks: those who defied the conventional norms of
price vs specs
Moto G (1st-gen)
Xiaomi Mi 3
ASUS Zenfone 5
Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro
OnePlus One
Xiaomi Redmi 1s
Budget segment
(Price: Rs 12,999 / 13,499)
Budget segment
(Price: Rs 9,999 / 12,999)
Budget
segment
(Price:
Rs 6,999)
High-end
segment
(Price:
Rs 32,999)
Mid-range segment
(Price: Rs 21,999)
Budget segment
(Price: Rs 13,999)

40. Phones continued to become more powerful in
2014 >
THE
NUMBER
MANIA

41. 53
88
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Number of devices
2013 2014
Phablet launches in 2013 vs 2014
*Phablets are defined as devices with screen size more than 5-inches and less than 7-inches
41
Going big: Phablets constitute ~60% of all devices in the
super-premium segment (above 35k)
59%
41%
Phablets Normal devices
Split between phablets and normal devices
in super-premium segment in 2014

42. 42
Power in the pocket: 60% of all smartphones launched in 2014 were
powered by quad-core and above processors
60%
40%
Smartphones launched in 2014 split by
processor type
129
371
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Quad-core
3
38
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Octa-core
2013 2014
Devices with
Quad-core
processors and
above
Devices with
single and
dual-core
processors
Phones launched with quad-core and octa-core
processors in year 2013 vs 2014

43. 43
Power in the pocket: over 60% of devices above Rs 5k
packed in a gigabyte or more of RAM
Phones launched with different RAM sizes in the year 2014
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Below 5k 5k-15k 15k-25k 25k-35k Above 35k
Below 1GB 1GB and 1.5GB 2GB 3GB
97%
3%
39%
55%
6%
75%
23%
2%
28%
61%
11%
22%
45%
33%
3% 6%

44. 90
205
180
43
166
156
0 50 100 150 200 250
13MP and above
8-13MP
5-8MP
2013 2014
Megapixel count of smartphone cameras in year 2013 vs 2014
23.5 %
growth
111 %
growth
15.3%
growth
44
Phone meets camera: smartphones with 13-megapixel and
above registered massive growth

45. 45
Sharper displays: HD resolution became a norm, especially
in the budget segment
# of smartphones launched with different
high-def resolutions in 2013 vs 2014
22
43
18
97
10
27
14
31
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
>35k
15k-25k
25k-35k
5k-15k
2013 2014
Smartphones launched with HD resolution
or more in 2013 and 2014, segregated by
price segments
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2013 2014
HD Full HD 2K
81 180
212%
growth
28.6% growth
59.3% growth
120% growth
63%
37%
76%
20%
4%

46. 46
Phones are slimming down: 35 phones launched across all price
segments in 2014 were slimmer than iPhone 5s (7.6mm)
8
2
7
18
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Above Rs 35k
Rs 25k-35k
Rs 15k-25k
Rs 5k-15k
Thin devices (<7.6mm) launched by price segment in 2014

47. 47
Selfies: from fad to phenomenon, even in the budget
segment
24
76
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2013 2014
Devices launched in 2014 and 2013 with front
cameras of 5MP and more
4
7
24
41
0 10 20 30 40 50
Above Rs 35k
Rs 25k-35k
Rs 15k-25k
Rs 5k-15k
Devices launched in 2014 with front cameras of
5MP and more, segregated by price segment

48. Other key trends
Devices with high battery capacities in vogue
61 devices launched in 2014 had battery capacities
of 3,000mAh+ compared to 30 in 2013
4G proliferation begins
Compared to 3 devices in 2013, 20 phones launched
in 2014 were compatible with Indian 4G bands
Android continues to dominate
With more than 90 percent market share, Android
has become a formidable OS, even though 2014
saw the debut of new OSes such as Firefox and Jolla
48

49. THINNEST SMARTPHONE
4.75mm Vivo X5Max
CAMERA
10X Optical Zoom
Samsung Galaxy
K Zoom
LARGEST BATTERY
5,300mAH battery
Philips W6610
PROCESSOR
Fastest quad-core (2.7GHz)
Samsung Galaxy Note 4
PROCESSOR
64-bit octa-core
HTC Desire 820
49
Spec milestones:
Devices that set new benchmarks
DISPLAY
2K pixels OPPO Find 7

50. Swivel camera
13-megapixel rotatable camera
OPPO N1
Fast charging
VOOC technology
OPPO Find 7
Laser autofocus
Fast and accurate focus
mechanism
LG G3
50
Feature milestones
Duo Camera
For depth-of-field effects
HTC One (M8)

51. What this year holds for us >
PEERING
INTO THE
CRYSTAL BALL

52. Even though its just an year old brand, it has created a dedicated fan following with its
strategy of offering a powerful smartphone at an affordable price tag.
Entered: Dec 2014, Rank in Dec 2014: 13
After giving tough fight to the likes of Samsung and Nokia, Micromax is gearing up to take
on the new-gen rivals like Xiaomi with an entirely new online-only brand.
Entered: Dec 2014, Rank in Dec 2014: 86
Rumoured to enter the Indian market this year, the brand can be a strong contender in the
newly-formed category of devices that disrupt the price vs specs equation.
Yet to enter the Indian market
The Taiwanese brand forayed into the market just last year, and with its superb devices
and their enticing pricing, it’s set to climb the popularity ranks.
Entered: Jul 2014, Brand rank in Dec 2014: 15
The numero uno PC manufacturer is keen on growing its smartphone share in the Indian
market, and its aggressive pricing strategy will surely help its cause.
Present in the market since couple of years, but became aggressive in 2014, Brand
rank in Dec 2014: 11
52
Top 5 mobile phone brands to look out for in 2015
Read our take on these manufacturers

53. Seflie snappers
and accessories
With powerful camera sensors and even front
LED flashes, manufacturers will make sure
that consumers are able to take high-quality
selfies.
Also, on the rise would be accessories such
as selfie sticks and flash extensions to make
the task easier.
53
Editor’s comments
The value-for-money term
to get a new meaning
2014 was just the beginning, and this year we
will be seeing both old and new brands
becoming more aggressive with the pricing of
their offerings.

54. 54
Editor’s comments
Download on the go
While 2014 started the 4G era with the launch
of 20 compatible devices, in 2015 it’s set to
increase manifold. With Reliance JIO’s plan to
roll out 4G across India, mobile brands are
already bracing for next-gen cellular networks
with affordable 4G devices.
64-bit processing
While Apple kickstarted the 64-bit processing
trend, Android devices will not be far behind
as both 5.0 Lollipop and several chipsets offer
support for 64-bit architecture.

55. Editor’s comments
55
Innovative form
factors
Swivel cameras, curved
screens, bent displays…
those are just a start, we
might see some crazy ideas
being implemented by
vendors this year.
Software as a means to
differentiate
With hardware being almost the same
in similarly-priced devices, brands will
put special focus to software and
services to stand out from the crowd.
YU’s CyanogenMod, XOLO’s Hive UI
are just a few examples.
Size-zero mania
Manufacturers will continue
cutting down the excess flab
on their devices to make
them super slim.

56. Some ifs and buts >
METHODOLOGY
AND DISCLAIMERS

57. Source of data is 91mobiles’ database and user behavior on 91mobiles.com.
All devices made available for sale by an online store are considered as devices ‘launched’ in the
Indian market for the purpose of this report
Different storage and SIM variants of the same device are considered as separate products for the
purpose of this report.
Popularity of devices measured in terms of searches on 91mobiles is indicative, and may differ
from other platforms.
57
Methodology and Disclaimers

58. List of phone brands considered for the report
Acer Mobile Jolla Samsung
Alcatel Lenovo Sansui
Apple LG Sony
Asus Mercury Xiaomi
Blackberry Microsoft Yota
BQ Motorola Zook
Forme Nokia ZTE
Gionee Obi
Google Mobile Oppo
HP Mobile Panasonic
HTC Mobiles Philips
Huawei Rocker
Adcom Devante Josh MTS Sky Mobile
Alpha Digimac Karbonn OGO Speed
Arise Earth Kenxinda Onida Spice
Atom Fly K-Touch OPlus Swipe
Bingo Hi-Tech Mobile Lava OptimaSmart Vedaee
Bloom HPL
Lemon
Mobiles
Penta Videocon
Byond Tech IBall Lima Mobiles Raeno VOX Mobile
Celkon IBerry Mafe Rage Wham
Champion ICEX Maxcell Reach Wynncom
Cheers Idea Maxx Reliance XOLO
Croma Intex Micromax RK Mobile Zen Mobiles
Cubit i-smart Mitashi Salora Zync
Datawind Jivi M-Tech SICT
Indian Brands International Brands64 31
58