2021 was a record year for Apple in India. The company shipped between 5.4 and 6 million units of the iPhone in the country. The growth can be attributed to high demand and the uptick in the sale of 5G smartphones across price segments.

Data from market analyst firm Counterpoint Research shows that Apple commanded a 70 percent share in the premium smartphone market defined by devices priced north of Rs. 45,000 ($603). As the analyst firm’s partner Neil Shah notes, Apple had a smaller 50 percent share in the segment in 2020. He adds that in 2020, Apple shipped 3 million iPhones and in 2021, the number rose to 6 million. The company clocked “double growth” in every quarter of the year compared to 2020.

This has impacted rivals Samsung, and OnePlus whose market share in the same band has dropped from 28% to 14% and 14% to 12%, respectively.”

Most of Apple’s growth in India has been driven by the iPhone 12 and iPhone 11 models manufactured locally at facilities owned by Foxconn and Wistron. The two models together helped Apple double its business in India in 2021. Specifically, the iPhone 12 accounted for 31 percent of the market share while the iPhone 11 accounted for 28 percent at the time. Recently, Apple also began trial production of iPhone 13 models in the country.

In total, the firm pegged total smartphone sales at 169 million units in the country. This is an 11 percent growth year-on-year despite the pandemic-induced supply chain difficulties and price hikes. Of all the smartphones shipped, 17 percent were 5G-compatible, and this statistic is six times higher than it was in 2020. The significant increase in 5G smartphone sales is due to the 40 percent drop in the prices of such devices in the last six months.

That said, industry intelligence group CyberMedia Research forecasts that Apple is in for another “record year” in 2022 with the planned launch of the budget-centric iPhone SE 3 in the first half of the year. Counterpoint Research also expects the Indian smartphone market to grow by “double digits” in 2022, with a significant contribution from mid to high-end 5G smartphones.