2 days ago
India’s Smartphone Market Splits as Premium Phones Rise
India’s phone market is becoming divided between expensive phones and cheaper phones.
Fewer people are buying phones priced below Rs 15,000.
At the same time, people who do buy phones are often choosing more expensive models.
The average price of a phone rose to about Rs 30,000.
Credit and installment plans are helping some shoppers afford premium devices.
Tax cuts also gave some salaried young people more money to spend.
Cheaper phones have become more costly to make because memory prices rose sharply.
As a result, some people are keeping their old phones longer instead of replacing them.
India’s smartphone shipments fell 10% year-on-year in the April-June quarter, the sharpest June-quarter decline in six years.
Phones priced below Rs 15,000 saw volumes fall nearly 50%, while their shipment share dropped to 27% from nearly 46%.
Average selling prices rose almost 20% to about Rs 30,000 as consumers shifted toward mid-premium and premium devices.
Affordable credit, upgrade ambitions and tax cuts helped support higher-end purchases, often through EMI financing.
Rising memory costs and weaker affordability are lengthening replacement cycles as buyers question the value of incremental upgrades.
- Who
- Indian smartphone consumers, phone manufacturers, lenders and market researchers including Counterpoint Research and IDC India and South-East Asia.
- What
- India’s smartphone shipments declined overall while demand shifted from budget phones toward mid-premium and premium models.
- Where
- India.
- When
- The main data covers the April-June quarter; other figures refer to the September 2025 quarter and full-year 2025.
- Why
- Premium purchases are being supported by upgrade ambitions, affordable credit and tax cuts, while budget demand is weakened by rising memory costs and reduced affordability.
Premium Demand Resilience
Budget Affordability Pressure
Where demand remains strongest
Premium Demand Resilience
Researchers and companies say mid-premium and premium demand is holding up as consumers pursue upgrades, with credit and EMI plans supporting purchases.
Budget Affordability Pressure
Budget-phone buyers are highly price-sensitive, and falling affordability is weakening demand for models priced below Rs 15,000.
Market outlook
Premium Demand Resilience
Higher average prices and strong premium sales show that consumers who are still buying are willing to spend more, and Samsung reportedly raised prices without losing volume.
Budget Affordability Pressure
The overall market is not growing: full-year 2025 shipments were flat, while stretched replacement cycles suggest consumers are holding onto phones longer.
Manufacturing costs
Premium Demand Resilience
Manufacturers can continue offering budget devices by absorbing part of the increase in memory costs, as Boltt has done.
Budget Affordability Pressure
Manufacturers say passing on the entire cost increase would directly hurt demand, while absorbing it puts pressure on budget-phone economics.
Key facts
- April-June shipments
- Down 10% year-on-year, the steepest June-quarter fall in six years.
- Average selling price
- About Rs 30,000, nearly 20% higher than a year earlier.
- Budget-phone volumes
- Phones below Rs 15,000 saw volumes fall nearly 50%.
- Budget shipment share
- Declined to 27% at the end of June from nearly 46% a year earlier.
- 2025 smartphone shipments
- Flat at 152 million units for the full year.
- September 2025 quarter
- Total smartphone sales reached 48 million units, up 4.3% year-on-year.
- Memory cost
- The memory cost in a Rs 10,000 phone nearly quadrupled to Rs 4,500.
Quotes
Upasana Joshi
Senior research manager at IDC India and South-East Asia
“Demand in the mid-premium segments is sustaining fairly well, whereas volumes at the lower end are languishing”
financialexpress.com
“Passing on the entire increase would directly affect demand”
financialexpress.com
Executives at a smartphone company
Company executives commenting on smartphone purchasing trends
“Aspirations to upgrade to a better phone, combined with the availability of affordable credit, is driving sales at the higher end”
financialexpress.com
Sources
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