From Samsung to Xiaomi, smartphone makers to boost sales with rural focus

With cheaper data rates, rural consumers are now ready for a shift to smartphones and brands can now easily convert them from feature phones

Earlier this year, Manu Kumar Jain, vice-president (V-P), Xiaomi India, was crisscrossing the country, taking selfies with trade partners in Chandigarh one day, and next, shaking hands with people in Hostake, a small town in Karnataka with a population of about 60,000.  

His hard work bore fruit when his company had a quarterly shipment of 10 million smartphones in June, the highest ever.

Jain is not the only one running around the country. As 4G internet completes coverage of the entire country, rural markets have become the primary generator of sales. From Samsung to Vivo, all major smartphone companies