Yea…Google Inc (GOOG)’s Showing Apple Inc. (AAPL) Who’s Boss

We know the smartphone market in India is growing, as we have discussed in the past (check this out) and will continue to follow in the future. But did you know that while Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is sitting at the top of this market, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) finds itself sliding down the rankings?

This is big news for many reasons. For Google, it shows that the company, along with its Android operating system, is top dog. For Apple, on the other hand, it shows that something needs to be done in order to get back into the race in this market.

For more information on what is going on, we took a closer look at a Times of India article citing information from a yet to be published IDC report.

Here is what you need to know:

“Samsung continues to lead the Indian smartphone market both in unit sales as well as value, while rival Apple was elbowed out of top five in the first quarter (Jan-March) of 2013. Apple has however made it to the top 5 in terms of value showing up its higher profitability side.”

As you know, Samsung smartphones are powered by the Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system.

The biggest surprise may not be the fact that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is not number one. It may be the fact that Cupertino has been pushed all the way out of the top five during the first quarter of 2013. This goes a long way in showing that the company has lost a lot of steam among consumers in India.

Manasi Yadav, senior market analyst at IDC, shed some light on this:

“Apple has always been a niche player in the country. Apple numbers in Q4 of 2012 were exceptional but their shipments actually saw a dip in Q1 of 2013 as per our numbers.”

As of right now, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is a dominating force in India while Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is nothing more than a niche company looking to carve out more space.

One option for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), one that a lot of people are expecting, is for Cupertino to make a cheaper iPhone available to consumers in emerging markets. This may be just what the company needs in order to steal back market share in India as well as other similar markets throughout the world.

The fight between Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in India is just now beginning. The search engine king may be on top for the time being, but the iPhone maker is lurking.