Counterpoint: India's 5G smartphone shipments will surpass 4G by the end of 2023

CTOnews.com, December 29 (Xinhua) India's 5G smartphone shipments will exceed 4G smartphone shipments by the end of 2023, driven by the large-scale use of high-speed networks and rising sales of low-priced phones, market research firm Counterpoint said on Thursday.

Tuyuan PexelsCounterpoint added that while overall smartphone shipments in India are expected to decline this year due to component supply problems and macroeconomic factors, 5G will also continue to drive smartphone demand in 2023.

India's 5G data speed is expected to be about 10 times faster than 4G, and the network is considered crucial for emerging technologies such as self-driving cars and artificial intelligence.

The share of 5G phones in the low-priced segment (less than 20, 000 Indian rupees or $241.55) is expected to surge from 4 per cent last year to 30 per cent in 2023, Counterpoint said.

CTOnews.com has learned that Reliance, India's telecom leader, is working with Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, to launch an economical 5G smartphone after it became the biggest buyer in India's $19 billion 5G spectrum auction in August.

Cumulative shipments of 5G smartphones will exceed 100 million units in the second quarter of 2023 and surpass 4G smartphone shipments by the end of 2023, Counterpoint said.

The analyst expects constraints such as component shortages, inflation, geopolitical conflicts and the limited availability of 5G networks to be alleviated by the end of 2023, leading to large-scale adoption of 5G.

Meanwhile, the Indian government wants to push Apple, Samsung and other handset makers to give priority to software upgrades to support the country's 5G network, as many models are not ready for the recently launched 5G high-speed service, Reuters reported.