India’s mass-market mobile segment declined 45% YoY

India’s mass-market mobile segment (sub-15k) has been hit the hardest, with its shipments declining 45% year-over-year (YoY), noted Counterpoint Research due to rising memory prices, which has forced OEMs to hike smartphone prices and expand their 4G portfolios to address changing market dynamics.

However, the ultra-premium segment (above 45k) remained strong as people are moving towards premiumisation due to availability of various financing options.

“We expect India’s smartphone market to remain under pressure through the rest of the year, as elevated memory and component costs continue to keep device prices high. Smartphone memory prices have increased nearly 4x since September 2025 and are expected to rise further, potentially reaching 5x in the coming months. As a result, we expect the market to decline by 13% YoY for the full year,” said Tarun Pathak, Research Director, Counterpoint.

Overall, India’s smartphone shipments witnessed biggest decline in six years between April to June with shipments going down by 10% during Q2 2026, due to record-high memory prices, price hike across all segments, weakening consumer demand and extending replacement cycles.

“On the supply side, persistent increases in memory and other component costs prompted almost every major OEM to implement multiple rounds of price hikes, resulting in an average smartphone price hike of around 15% by the end of the second quarter,” said Senior Analyst Prachir Singh.

On leader board, Vivo led India’s smartphone market in Q2 2026 with 17.8% share. It felt pressure in budget segment as multiple price hikes across the Y and T series weighed on demand, resulting in a double-digit decline YoY.

Samsung came second (17.6%) by growing 2% YoY. Oppo was third with a 14% market share.

Xiaomi (including Poco) was fourth with a 13% share, while Realme ranked fifth. Both brands recorded YoY shipment declines due to repeated price hikes across their entry- and mid-tier portfolios.

Apple’s shipments declined 3% YoY in Q2 2026, with its market share reaching 7%. While consumer demand for the iPhone 17 series remained strong, supply constraints and inventory shortages across online and offline channels limited the brand’s shipment growth during the quarter.

Google emerged as the fastest-growing smartphone brand in the ultra-premium segment (above 45k) in Q2 2026, posting 68% YoY growth.

Nothing was India’s fastest-growing smartphone brand in Q2 2026 at 105% YoY, driven by strong demand for the Phone 4a and Phone (4a) Pro models, said Counterpoint.

MediaTek led chipset market with a 49% shipment share. Smartphone financing accounted for over 50% of mainline smartphone sales in India in Q2 2026.