Vivo X90 launch in India: Buyers more interested in V Series than flagship models

Vivo X90 Series launch in India: Smartphone maker Vivo has launched X90 Series, the successor to the X80, in India. While this is one of the most hyped and much-awaited smartphones from Vivo, a recent study found that Vivo X Series is not among the top 10 smartphone models that consumers show interest in following the launch of their new editions.

According to a survey by Techarc, Apple and OnePlus smartphones lead in terms of user interest in their new edition launches of flagship models.

Vivo X90 Pro is the most premium smartphone in Vivo’s lineup in India but the report suggests that the smartphone, or for that matter the entire X90 series, has failed to connect with buyers. However, users showed interest in the Vivo V series. The company recently launched the Vivo V27 series and it made headlines for its colour-changing back panel and camera features.

"Vivo X90 is loaded with all top-end features and specifications making it a strong contender for a premium flagship smartphone. However, as the survey also suggests, Vivo still has some work to do to be seen as a luxe (>50,000) segment brand.  As the survey results show, users keenly look for Vivo's V series its premium (25,000-50,000) segment phones," said Faisal Kawoosa, Chief Analyst & Founder of Techarc.

The smartphone series has two variants - X90 and X90 Pro with ZEISS 1-inch main camera. While the X90 Pro is available only in one variant of 12GB+256GB and has been priced at Rs Rs 84,999, the X90 comes in two RAM and storage variants i.e. 8GB+256GB and 12GB+256GB. They are priced at Rs 59,999 and Rs 63,999, respectively.

The finding indicates that users recognise brands with a particular series and consumers get associated with them with particular price segments.

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“This means, while a brand may have several series to target different user cohorts, customers have their own mapping and recognise these brands in entry, mid, premium and luxe segments, respectively depending on the series catering to a particular segment,” he added.

Meanwhile, Canalys’ research shows that global smartphone shipments fell by 13 per cent to 269.8 million units in Q1 2023.

According to the report, Vivo was among the top five vendors in the first quarter of 2023 in terms of worldwide smartphone shipment with an 8 per cent market share. However, it reported a decline of 17 per cent in terms of unit growth in the same period. The only smartphone manufacturer to have positive unit growth was Apple.