The first quarter of the year has ended, and March was as eventful as February in the smartphone industry. It appears as if the fervour of the Mobile World Congress spilled over in March as well. While we saw the cream of the crop of technology innovation being showcased at MWC, March witnessed multiple launches in India.
While vivo and Nothing heated up the mid-range segment with their latest launches, Realme, Lava, iQOO, and POCO also launched commendable offerings. It led to millions of shoppers looking up for their next smartphone purchase on MySmartPrice and it’s time to bring back another MSP Tech Insights. There are several upsets from MSP Tech Insights: February 2024 edition, resulting in new entrants too.
Most Popular Mobiles in March 2024
Bear in mind that these are the most popular smartphones by search volume on our website, which means they piqued our readers’ interest but may not reflect their sales. With that in mind, here are the top 10 most popular smartphones in March.
1. vivo V30 5G
The vivo V series smartphones are known for being market disruptors and the latest V30 5G proved it again by being the most popular phone in March. The V30 5G dethroned February’s top smartphone (Motorola Edge 40 Neo) to grab the numero uno position.
The vivo V30 features a colour-changing fluorite AG glass panel, which changes its colour as UV light falls on it. Other highlighting features of the phone include a curved AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution, Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 SoC, dual 50MP cameras on the rear, a 50MP selfie camera, and more.
2. Nothing Phone 2a
After launching two flagships, the Nothing Phone (2a) is the Carl Pei-run company’s first attempt to tap the mid-range smartphone segment. The phone retains the aesthetics of its pricier flagship siblings complete with the Glyph interface on the back and offers a solid spec sheet for the mid-range.
The Nothing Phone 2a starts at Rs 23,999 in India and comes with the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro SoC. Other notable features include a 6.7-inch 10-bit flexible AMOLED display, 8GB virtual RAM, an advanced cooling system, HyperEngine 5.0, and more.
3. Realme Narzo 70 Pro
The Realme Narzo 70 Pro is yet another new entrant launched last month that secured a spot among the top three most popular smartphones in India in March. The latest Narzo series offering is also the first Narzo device to offer air gestures, which allow users to operate the device without touching the display.
The Narzo 70 Pro is also a huge detour from the Narzo series aesthetic and is easily the best-looking device in the series to date. It ships with a 6.67-inch OLED display, MediaTek Dimensity 7050 SoC, 50MP dual rear cameras, Android 14-based Realme UI, and more.
4. OnePlus 12R
The OnePlus 12R slid a notch below to the fourth spot in March from the third position in Feb, but it continues to be the most expensive inclusion on the popularity charts. Its USP is that it’s the most affordable device with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor in the country.
While the phone was launched in India back in January, the brand recently launched the highly-anticipated Genshin Impact Edition to revive the hype. The latest flagship killer from the brand brings all the goodies to the table from a ProXDR LTPO AMOLED display and 50MP camera to a 5,500mAh battery and IP64 rating.
5. Realme 12 Plus
Realme was able to grab attention with its latest 12 series devices thanks to the luxury watch design with a polished sunburst dial, developed in collaboration with Ollivier Savéo. The top-end variant in the lineup, the Realme 12 Plus found its way to the most popular smartphones in March thanks to competitive pricing and powerful specifications.
Starting at Rs 20,999, the Realme 12 Plus comes in Pioneer Green and Navigator Beige colours with a vegan leather textured back panel. Its highlighted features include a 120Hz AMOLED display, 50MP rear cameras with OIS support, 67W fast charging, and more.
6. OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G
OnePlus has managed to establish a stronghold in the budget segment of the Indian smartphone market with its Nord series. The popularity of the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G, even a year after its launch, is a testament to this. While it slid down one rank in March, the Nord CE 3 Lite continues to be one of the most popular smartphones ahead of the Nord CE 4 launch in India on April 1.
The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G was launched below Rs 20,000 and offers a great package for the price. The highlights include an FHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 108MP primary camera. It also recently started receiving a stable Android 14 update in India.
7. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13
This is one of the biggest upsets as the Redmi Note 13 dropped by 5 spots. The most affordable option in the Redmi Note 13 series was launched in India for Rs 16,999 with offers, which is the biggest draw.
For the price, the smartphone offers a 120Hz AMOLED display with FHD+ screen resolution, a Dimensity 6080 processor, a 100MP primary camera, and a fast-charging 5,000mAh battery. It’s evident why the Redmi Note 13 continues to be a popular smartphone.
8. Motorola Edge 40 Neo
The Motorola Edge 40 Neo was last month’s top seed but has fallen to the 8th position in March. The brand continues to have a great fan following in India, thanks to the near-stock Android interface and a well-rounded spec sheet.
At the time of its launch, the Edge 40 Neo was the only smartphone in India with the Dimensity 7030 processor and continues to be. Moreover, the brand revived the hype around the device by recently launching a Neo Peach Fuzz colour variant.
9. Moto G54
Motorola is the only brand apart from OnePlus and Realme to have two of its offerings listed in the most popular smartphones in March 2024. The G54 was launched in September 2023 starting at Rs 15,999. But the device received a price cut earlier this year and now starts at Rs 13,999.
This makes the Moto G54 one of the most affordable smartphones to offer a near-stock Android experience. Other impressive highlights include a 120Hz IPS LCD panel, the Dimensity 7020 chipset, a beefy 6,000mAh battery, and more.
10. Samsung Galaxy F15
The Samsung Galaxy F15 is the latest F series smartphone launched by the brand last month. An aggressive starting price point of Rs 12,999, Android 14 with assured four Android version upgrades and a powerful spec sheet seems to have shot the new Samsung budget smartphone to the top 10 list of popular smartphones in March.
The new launch comes with the signature Samsung design in two attractive colours. It offers a Super AMOLED high refresh rate display, Dimensity 6100+ chipset, triple rear camera setup with two 50MP lenses, and a massive 6,000mAh battery.
As you can see, March was quite eventful with several mid-range and budget smartphone launches in India. And it seems that April will witness a handful of exciting launches from Realme, Motorola, Infinix, Samsung, etc. starting with the OnePlus Nord CE 4 launch on April 1. We will be back with another MSP Tech Insight next month to reveal which phones soared on the popularity chart in April, so keep your eyes peeled.
