Apple iPhone XR, XS, XS Max

Apple has raced ahead of Samsung, Xiaomi and BBK Electronics brands (Vivo, Oppo, and OnePlus) to emerge as the most popular smartphone brand in the Indian pre-owned smartphone market according to the recent OLX study. At 19% of total listings on OLX, Apple’s iPhone was the most listed smartphone on OLX in 2019. Apple emerged ahead of Samsung with 16% listings, BBK Electronics (Vivo, Oppo, and OnePlus) with 14% listings, Xiaomi with 13% listings and other brands (Motorola, Lenovo, Nokia, Asus, Gionee, Sony, HTC, LG, Lava, Intex, Karbonn, Micromax and other OEM’s) which collectively comprised 38% of the smartphones listed on OLX.

In terms of demand Apple had the highest share with 19%, followed by Xiaomi with 18%, Samsung and BBK Electronics (Vivo, Oppo, OnePlus) joint third with 15%, while other brands (Motorola, Lenovo, Nokia, Asus, Gionee, Sony, HTC, LG, Lava, Intex, Karbonn, Micromax, and other OEMs) collectively pulled in 33% of total demand. OLX, India’s leading C2C digital classifieds marketplace, analyzed over 9 million smartphone listings on its platform in 2019. Besides the leading pre-owned smartphone brands in India, the study also revealed key trends and drivers in the growth of the pre-owned smartphone market over 2018-2019.

Xiaomi Mi A3
Xiaomi Mi A3

The market for pre-owned smartphones is growing at a rapid rate, due to the increased frequency of smartphone launches in India. A significant part of the pre-owned mobile market is still offline – driven by dealers, retailers, and shop-owners. However, online marketplaces are increasingly becoming a popular platform for buying and selling mobiles. Almost 59% percent of all smartphones listed on OLX in Q1-Q3 2019 were sold and each smartphone listed gets on an average 20 queries from interested buyers implying the high liquidity the platform offers.

Top Trends on OLX

  • Legacy models such as iPhone 5S and iPhone SE continue to be in heavy demand across small towns and rural areas.
  • Demand for Xiaomi phones continues to be high despite lower listings
  • North India lists the most number of phones on OLX
  • The average price of a pre-owned smartphone continues to be on the rise, in 2019, the average price of a pre-owned smartphone listed on OLX jumped to Rs 12,000, up from Rs 11,000 in 2018, and Rs 9,000 in 2017.

Most popular mobile brands on OLX

Data from Q1-Q3 2019

Brand

% listings

% demand

Apple

19

19

Samsung

16

15

Vivo, Oppo, OnePlus

14

15

Xiaomi

13

18

Others(Motorola, Lenovo, Nokia, Asus, Gionee, Sony, HTC, LG, Lava, Intex, Karbonn, Micromax and other OEM’s)

38

33

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Fell in love with Android OS from the day I bought my first Smartphone in 2013. A budding Android Developer. Love to write about Android, Tech, and Smartphones. Technology enthusiast addicted to my smartphone, I love clicking photos with my smartphone, traveling and listening to music. Currently using a OnePlus 6T and Ticwatch S.