New Delhi, May 12 : Apple registered the highest growth of 23 per cent among the top five brands in India in the January-March quarter, shipping a first-quarter record of three million units, an IDC report said on Monday.

In the March quarter, iPhone 16 was the highest shipped model, accounting for 4 per cent of overall India shipments during Q1 2025.

The first two months of the year saw fewer launches with brands focusing on offering retail support, discounts and price drops on older models to clear inventory.

'However, new launches picked up in March across price segments with enhanced marketing activities to drive demand,' said Aditya Rampal, senior market analyst, Devices Research, IDC Asia Pacific.

ASPs (average selling price) reached a record of $274 in Q1 2025, growing by 4 per cent (on-year).

The premium segment ($600- $800) registered the highest growth of 78.6 per cent, with share up from 2 per cent to 4 per cent. iPhone 16 alone accounted for 32% of the shipments in this segment.

The mid-premium segment ($400-$600) also saw strong growth of 74 per cent, with share reaching 6 per cent from 3 per cent.

Apple and Samsung's share increased in this segment, led by iPhone 13 and Galaxy A56, according to the report.

Around 29 million 5G smartphones were shipped in the quarter. The share of 5G smartphone shipments increased to 88 per cent, up from 69 per cent in Q1 2024, with ASPs declining by 11 per cent YoY to $300.

Within 5G, the share of the low-end (sub-US$100) segment reached 7 per cent led by affordable new launches, while 45 per cent of the shipments were still within the mass budget segment of ($100-$200).

Qualcomm-based shipments grew by 40.8 per cent on-year, at 31.8 per cent share, led by affordable offerings like Xiaomi's Redmi 14C, while MediaTek's share declined to 43.6 per cent from 55.3 per cent on a shipment decline of 25.5 per cent YoY in Q1 2025, the report mentioned.

IDC estimates a low single-digit growth in 2025 in terms of shipments, as ASPs continue to rise, leading to a mid-single digit value growth annually.

/IANS