Muristek
New Delhi, February 22
India will have 1 billion smartphone users by 2026 with rural areas driving the sale of internet-enabled phones, a Deloitte study said on Tuesday. India had 1.2 billion mobile subscribers in 2021, of which about 750 million are smartphone users. It is poised to be the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in the next five years.
"The smartphone market is expected to reach 1 billion users by 2026," according to Deloitte's 2022 Global TMT (Technology, Media and Entertainment, Telecom) predictions. This growth is likely to be propelled by the rural sector at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6%, compared with the urban sector growing at a CAGR of 2.5% from 2021 to 2026.
"Higher internet adoption is expected to fuel demand for smartphones; this increased demand will be propelled by the need to adopt fintech, e-health, and e-learning," it said.
Internet-enabled devices in the rural market will also get a push with the government's plan to fiberise all villages by 2025 under the BharatNet programme.
Deloitte said 95% replacements in the urban market in 2026 will be toward new smartphones, while only 5% will be toward pre-owned phones compared with 75% and 25%, respectively, in 2021.
The rural population is expected to demonstrate a similar trend where the average lifespan of a phone is four years. About 80% replacements are likely to be for new devices, while 20% for pre-owned ones in 2026. Correspondingly, the replacement of feature phones with smartphones is expected to gradually decrease due to a rise in the number of smartphone users.
Feature phone replacements will reach 60 million in 2026 from 72 million in 2021 for the urban sector. These replacements will drop to 60 million in 2026 from 71 million in 2021 for the rural sector.
According to Deloitte's analysis, demand for smartphones in India is expected to increase at a CAGR of 6%, to reach about 400 million smartphones in 2026 from 300 million in 2021. — PTI
Rural areas to drive growth
India had 1.2 billion mobile subscribers in 2021, of which about 750 million are smartphone users. It is poised to be the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in the next five years This growth is likely to be propelled by the rural sector at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6%, compared with the urban sector growing at a CAGR of 2.5% from 2021 to 2026