Indian smartphone users don't believe in megapixel hype; they want better selfie cameras says survey

One might think that the increasing megapixel count on the smartphone camera influences consumer purchase decision. However, CMR Insights on Go Survey suggests that 79 per cent of the consumers in this price segment of sub-Rs 30,000 believe that image quality is not dependent on megapixel count. Five in every six smartphone users in the price band of Rs 20,000-30,0000 hold this belief. Instead of the megapixel count, consumers are more concerned about the quality of the front camera in their quest to get the perfect selfie. Consumers accord more importance to selfie quality.

Interestingly, smartphones in the sub-Rs 30,000 price band constitute one of the most prominent price segments where 85 per cent of India's consumers make their smartphone purchase. Prabhu Ram, Head- Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR, says, "What the survey insights provide us with, is a compelling picture of a classic conundrum. While smartphone brands focus on increasing the megapixel capabilities of in the rear camera, consumer priorities, in the sub-30k segment, are elsewhere. Consumers believe that the image quality is not dependent on megapixels. For them, the selfie should be picture-perfect, and that's what really matters. Having said that, there are some niche consumer cohorts, including photography enthusiasts, who would benefit from higher megapixels, as they seek to capture very fine details, with greater color accuracy."

According to the survey, 64 per cent of the consumers feel the front camera is more important than the rear camera. And, one in every three users has stated the poor quality of the front camera as a dissatisfaction factor with their smartphone.  When it comes to taking selfies in low light conditions, smartphone users are not satisfied with the results. They believe smartphone brands should bring innovations that make the selfie picture-perfect, under all conditions.

"The survey results illustrate that today's consumers are taking more selfies than they did six months ago. While they accord more importance to the front smartphone camera, they still believe there is significant room for improvement there. Consumers seek more refined image quality under all conditions, including low light," adds Satya Mohanty, Head- Industry Consumer Group (ICG), CMR.

65 per cent of the survey participants emphasised that the smartphone camera is the number one consideration for while buying a new phone. In terms of smartphone specs, they give more preference to front camera (64 per cent) followed by the rear camera (36 per cent). Other features worth consideration include RAM, design or looks and battery. In fact, 60 per cent of smartphone users, in the price band of Rs 20,000-30,000, feel the front camera is more important than rear camera.

The survey suggests that 60 per cent of smartphone users are satisfied with the front camera of their smartphone. However, 36 per cent of the smartphone users in the price band of Rs 20,000-30,000 have expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of their front camera. 53 per cent of the smartphone users in this price band feel that they need more features for the front camera. 55 per cent of those who take selfies in low light condition are not satisfied with the results. In the price band of Rs 20,000-30,000, 58 per cent of such smartphone users are not satisfied with the low light results.

70 per cent of users agree that smartphone brands should bring innovations that make the selfie picture-perfect, under all conditions. In the Rs 20,000-30,000 price band, 72 per cent of smartphone users share a similar sentiment.

The CMR Insights on the Go Survey surveyed 600 smartphone owners across top six Indian cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The study was conducted in early April and focused on mapping smartphone camera usage (in the sub Rs 30,000 segment) amongst Indians in the age group of 18-30 years.

Also read: Xiaomi Mi 10 at Rs 49,999: Why it makes complete sense

Smartphone Radiation is Increasing...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NASA Wants You to Photograph Starlink Satellites With Your Smartphone

Over the coming years, Elon Musk's private spaceflight company, SpaceX, will launch thousands of small satellites as part of an effort to provide global, space-based internet. But with each launch, astronomers have grown increasingly worried that this satellite constellation, called Starlink, will interfere with their telescopes' abilities to study the night sky. This week, scientists with the Russian Academy of Sciences announced that they'll take their concerns about Starlink to the United Nations, Newsweek reported.  And now NASA's education office has launched a project that asks for the public's help documenting these satellite streaks as part of a long-term effort to study how the technology will change our night sky. Anyone with a modern smartphone and a tripod can contribute to the Satellite Streak Watcher project. "People will photograph these Starlink satellite streaks, and we'll collect a large archive of these over time," says astronome...
Read more

India's top smartphone maker Xiaomi says growing anti-China sentiment has not affected business

Image
Growing anti-China sentiment in India has not had any material impact on Chinese smartphone maker, Xiaomi, the company's India boss said on Thursday. In the last six years, Xiaomi India built a strong local culture and company, managing director Manu Kumar Jain told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia." "Our product team, R&D teams are here in India. As we have mentioned, all (of ) our phones, majority of our TVs are made in India, large number of components are locally sourced ... entire leadership team is in India," Jain said. "Till now, we are not seeing any major impact on our business, with respect to sales or demand," he added. Xiaomi is India's top smartphone maker and owns about 30% of the market currently, according to data from Counterpoint Research. In fact, apart from Samsung, the rest of the top five phone makers in the Indian market are Chinese firms. Relations between New Delhi and Beijing deteriorated in recent weeks due to a border c...
Read more

Intelligence Brief: Is 5G a smartphone lifeline?

Image
As countries around the world ease pandemic-related restrictions on consumers and businesses, it is abundantly clear operators and smartphone vendors now inhabit a fundamentally changed economic landscape. Covid-19 (coronavirus) sent shockwaves through every sector of the economy, and while it has been better insulated than some, the telecom industry will inevitably feel the effects of the 3 per cent global GDP contraction the IMF predicts for this year. Operators and smartphone vendors are now facing the ominous dual prospects of a severe global recession and a prolonged slump for traditional in-store retail, where most phones were sold before the pandemic. Through the economic gloom, there is nevertheless some good news for smartphone manufacturers. At a basic level, lockdowns have, if anything, further demonstrated the critical importance of mobile devices for enabling eve...
Read more