New Delhi, Oct 10 : Premium smartphones continued to buck the trend in India in the first wave of the festive season, with sales volume growing by 7 per cent (year-on-year), a report showed on Thursday.

The festive period, which ends after Diwali, is expected to see more than 35 million smartphones being sold this year, a growth of 3 per cent YoY in terms of volume and 9 per cent YoY in terms of value, according to Counterpoint Research's estimates.

Notably, the ultra-premium segment (Rs 45,000 and above) saw 12 per cent YoY growth during the first wave of festive sales, thanks to Apple and Samsung.

Apple's models iPhone 15 and iPhone 13 were the top-performing premium smartphones. For Samsung, deals on the Galaxy S23, S23 Ultra and S23 FE drove the premium volumes, the report mentioned.

This year's festive season sales kicked off on September 26. The festive season contributes to 20-25 per cent of the smartphone annual sales.

Overall, the first wave of festive season sales (September 26 to October 7) saw a minor decline of 3 per cent YoY in smartphone volumes, crossing 13 million units.

However, the value saw an upward trend, growing by 8 per cent YoY and crossing $3.2 billion for the first time. In the first wave, online channels contributed to almost 70 per cent of total smartphone sales.

According to the report, in the first wave, Samsung emerged as the best-selling brand, both in terms of volume and value. The brand captured an 18 per cent sales volume share and 22% sales value share to grow in double digits, both in volume and value.

Apple's sales grew by single digits in terms of volume. But the value grew more due to the strong performance of the iPhone 15, the best-selling premium device during the first wave. Samsung's Galaxy S23 was the top-selling premium Android device, the report noted.

/IANS