Samsung tops India premium smartphone market in 2018 first half
New Delhi, Aug 17 : South Korean giant Samsung dominated the premium smartphone segment in India in the first half of 2018 grabbing almost half the market share, a new report said on Friday.
According to CyberMedia Research (CMR) India's "Mobile Handset Review", Samsung with 48 per cent topped the premium market (Rs 30,000 and above), followed by Chinese smartphone player OnePlus with 25 per cent share and Apple at third with 22 per cent share.
"The premium smartphone segment, though small, is driven by aspirational, tech-savvy millennials and in the coming years, will continue to grow significantly. Samsung's flagship S9 helped it garner a lion's share of the premium smartphone segment," Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group, CMR, said in a statement.
One in two premium smartphones shipped in the first half of 2018 was a Samsung device.
"The success of OnePlus 6 can be traced to the intelligent brand strategy of packing the best specs at competitive price points, contributing to the emergence of a new 'budget premium' smartphone segment under sub-Rs 30,000," added Ram.
During the first half of 2018, OnePlus introduced its "OnePlus Experience Stores" and is planning to embrace offline in a big way, to complement its strong online presence.
The iPhone-maker suffered a decline in demand for its iPhones due to pricing challenges on account of post-duty increase.
"Apple is reworking its India strategy for the all-important second half of 2018, with new retail partnerships, first-party stores and service overhauling with India-focused apps and services, including refreshed Apple Maps," said Narinder Kumar, Lead Analyst-Industry Intelligence Group, CMR.
Samsung led the first half on the back of its partnerships with telcos and e-commerce players, and aggressive promotional push, including attractive cash back offers and exchange benefits contributing to consumer demand remaining high.
"Going forward, the new ‘budget premium' segment will see an aggressive competition from market players, including ASUS, Huawei, Vivo, OPPO and likely new entrants, such as POCO from Xiaomi, taking the fight to established market leaders like Samsung, Apple and OnePlus," added Prabhu.
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Allahabad HC orders probe into 'reinstatement' of teacher in UP's Barabanki
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered a probe by the special task force (STF) into alleged irregularities in the rejoining of a teacher at City Intermediate College in Barabanki, observing that the reinstatement appeared to be prima facie illegal.
The court also directed the recovery of the salary paid to the teacher during the disputed period.
A bench of Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order on a petition filed by the college management committee. The court expressed doubts over the roles of the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), Barabanki, the college principal and the teacher concerned and hence, directed a detailed inquiry into the matter.
Taking note of alleged manipulation of records and misleading submissions, the court ordered the immediate transfer of the Barabanki DIOS to ensure a fair probe. It also directed the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the then joint director of education of the Ayodhya division.
In its order, the court found that the teacher, Abhay Kumar, was initially appointed as an assistant teacher in 2018 but joined an Eklavya Model Residential School in Chhattisgarh as a lecturer in June 2024 without obtaining permission from the management. His subsequent request to retain the lien was rejected.
Despite this, he was allowed to rejoin the Barabanki College in September 2025 on the directions of the joint director of education and the DIOS, and was even paid the salary for October 2025. The court termed the rejoining "wholly illegal" and lacking any legal basis.
The bench also expressed concern over lapses in communication within the education department and directed the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to ensure that official orders are communicated through email and WhatsApp as well, to prevent disputes.
The matter is next listed for hearing on May 28 when a compliance report is sought.
