India’s smart TV shipments grew 38 per cent (year-on-year) in the third quarter (Q3) and the share of homegrown brands showed the fastest growth to register a record 22 per cent share of the overall shipments, a new report showed on Friday, December 2. Global brands led India's smart TV segment with a 40 per cent share, followed by Chinese brands with a 38 per cent share, according to the latest research from Counterpoint's IoT Service.

Smart TVs are coming with better features, such as Dolby Audio, higher refresh rates and higher sound output, in the sub-Rs 30,000 ($400) price range. "Most of the new TV models have Dolby Audio support. The 32-inch is still the most popular screen size, as it caters to a wide array of consumers and comes with an affordable price range, whereas 43-inch is gaining popularity in the mid-range," said research analyst Akash Jatwala.

On the software side, newer models are increasingly coming with Google TV, mainly in the Rs 25,000 ($300) and above segment. "The major benefit of Google TV is its user interface and content recommendations, as it can recommend content across various streaming apps and YouTube, which is not available on Android TV," said Jatwala.

Although LED displays remain the preferred choice, advanced technology displays such as OLED and QLED are gaining ground in the country and many new Indian brands are entering the highly competitive market.

"OnePlus, Vu and TCL were the fastest growing brands in the smart TV segment in Q3. Xiaomi led the overall smart TV market with an 11 per cent share, followed by Samsung," said senior research analyst Anshika Jain. 

Other emerging brands in the top 10 included realme, Sony and Haier. Smart TV penetration of overall shipments reached its highest ever share of 93 per cent during the quarter. Online channels increased their contribution to the total shipments to 35 per cent during the quarter, said the report.