New Delhi: Research firm IDC has said that about 152.5 million smartphones were shipped in India in 2019 registering a "modest" 8 per cent growth over last year, positioning the country as the second-largest smartphone market after China, on Friday.

For 2020, IDC said the Indian smartphone market is expected to see "modest single-digit growth" in the year.

Xiaomi registered annual shipments of 43.6 million units in 2019, the highest-ever smartphone shipments made by any brand in a year, with a growth of 9.2 per cent y-o-y and cornered 28.6 per cent market share.

Samsung followed in the tally with 20.3 per cent share, vivo (15.6 per cent), Oppo (10.7 per cent) and realme (10.6 per cent).

A total of 36.9 million smartphone units were shipped in the fourth quarter of 2019, registering 5.5 per cent year-on-year growth, but a 20.8 per cent sequential decline.

In the December quarter, Xiaomi registered a 15.9 per cent y-o-y growth and had 29 per cent share, followed by vivo (18.8 per cent), Samsung (15.5 per cent), Oppo (13 per cent) and realme (12.8 per cent).

"This is an extremely exhilarating moment for us at Xiaomi India, as we become the leader in the overall mobile phone market across smartphones and feature phones.

It has helped us come closer to our mission of providing innovation for all, and Q4 witnessed several people adopting the smartphone," Xiaomi Vice-President and India Managing Director Manu Jain said.

He added that the company is committed to gaining users' sustained trust and appreciation through constant innovation across products, business models and infrastructure.

"IDC expects India's smartphone market to see modest single-digit growth in 2020 as well," IDC India Research Director (Client Devices and IPDS) Navkendar Singh said.

He added that as organic growth becomes challenging with increasing replacement cycles, it is imperative for the smartphone ecosystem to really put its energy and focus on enabling migration of the massive feature phone user base in India.

This needs to be done in addition to continuing to offer compelling propositions at the mid-premium segment to boost faster upgrades, he said.

"During the year, we will see launches with newer concepts like under-display cameras, gaming-centric features, and higher refresh rate screens clubbed with efforts by the brands to open new revenue areas like OS monetisation and financing services etc," he added.