India's smartphone market grew by over 20% on year in the third quarter of 2016 with shipments breaking the 30 million mark, according to Canalys. Samsung's shipments grew in line with the market, meaning it continued to lead with a share of just over 20%. Shipments from local players Micromax, Intex and Lava all fell on year, allowing Lenovo to move above Micromax and into second place for the first time while Xiaomi took fourth place, more than doubling its second-quarter shipments.

"Indian consumers are increasingly looking past local players' smartphones in favor of international brands," said Canalys analyst Rushabh Doshi. "There is ongoing portfolio consolidation as local players change their product strategies, emphasizing the 4G-enabled models that are now becoming mainstream. Besides having a strong LTE portfolio, channel strategy is increasingly important for smartphone success."

"Lenovo's focus on offline channels and Xiaomi's move away from being an online-only vendor have clearly helped," Doshi continued. "Xiaomi's shipments grew by almost 170% year on year, with its strongest quarter taking it to fourth place in an increasingly competitive market."

India has now clearly emerged as a growth opportunity for Xiaomi outside of its home market, Canalys identified.

"Despite its smartphone shipments halving, Micromax held onto third place, but it is coming under pressure from Xiaomi and fifth-placed Lyf," Doshi indicated.