New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS): Indias overall mobile handset market grew 7 per cent (on-year) in 2021 and Samsung captured the top position in the handset market with 17 per cent share, a new report said on Monday.

In the feature phone segment, the shipments reached 86 million units to show flat growth in 2021, according to Counterpoint Research.

itel led the feature phone market, taking 24 per cent share, followed by Lava, Samsung and Jio.

itel has been leading the feature phone market for the last two consecutive years.

In the smartphone segment, Samsung remained at the second position in 2021 with an eight per cent decline in shipments.

Supply chain disruptions, absence of new Note series, reduced focus on the entry-level segment and fewer launches in the mid segment compared to the previous year led to an overall decline.

However, Samsung was the top brand in 5G smartphone shipments in Q4 2021.

Its campaign on providing maximum bands in 5G smartphones facilitated this growth.

It also led the Rs 20,000-Rs 45,000 ($267-$600) segment with a 28 per cent share.

Samsung's foldable device (Fold and Flip series) shipments grew 388 per cent (on-year) in India in 2021.

Globally, Samsung has shipped four times more foldable devices in 2021 than last year, exceeding the three-fold market growth that analysts expected.

According to the company, the consumer enthusiasm for Samsung foldables is exemplified by the success of the Galaxy Z series.

Samsung Electronics revealed its first prototype of a flexible display in 2011.