10 Smartphone Brands Exit Indian Market in a Decade, Iconic Names Among Departures

In recent years, India has emerged as a significant hub for smartphones, attracting attention from various global smartphone brands. However, despite many brands participating in the Make in India campaign, India’s market primarily favours budget smartphones. Over the past decade, approximately 10 smartphone brands have exited the Indian market. This includes several well-known names.

Let’s Examine the Comprehensive List

1. LG Electronics:
   In April 2021, LG Electronics officially discontinued its mobile business in India. Although LG smartphones are renowned worldwide, they failed to make a significant impact in the Indian smartphone market. However, Sony has committed to providing service and software updates for LG users for a certain period.
2. Sony:
   Sony terminated its smartphone business in India in May 2019 due to declining sales. Sony also withdrew from several other smartphone markets besides India, including America, West Asia, South Asia, and Oceania in FY 2018.
3. HTC:
   HTC exited the Indian smartphone market in 2019 after suffering significant losses from competition with Chinese mobile handsets.
4. BlackBerry:
   Despite its global popularity, BlackBerry faced substantial losses due to the increasing dominance of Android and iOS platforms, leading to the discontinuation of BlackBerry Mobile in August 2020.
5. LeEco:
   LeEco made a strong entry into the Indian market but struggled to achieve success and eventually ceased its operations in India in 2017.
6. Spice:
   Spice Mobile, once a popular smartphone brand in India, faced tough competition from other players in the budget segment, resulting in its decline.
7. Panasonic:
   Despite its initial success in the affordable smartphone market, Panasonic could not maintain its position and eventually withdrew from the market.
8. Videocon:
   Videocon introduced a series of affordable mobile phones that failed to gain popularity, leading the company to sell its smartphone business.
9. iBall:
   iBall targeted rural markets with budget smartphones but couldn’t compete with Chinese brands like Oppo, Xiaomi, and Vivo.
10. Alcatel:
    Once popular in India, Alcatel struggled to maintain its identity in the market.

These brands faced various challenges, including intense competition, declining sales, and changing consumer preferences, leading to their exit from the Indian smartphone market.

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