India smartphone market hits 6-year low in Q2

Published 17 July 2026 · tech

Live Events ET Online (Source: Counterpoint Research) as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Addas a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can

Live Events ET Online (Source: Counterpoint Research) as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Addas a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel India's smartphone shipments fell 10% year-on-year in the April-June quarter, recording the steepest decline for a June quarter in six years as surging memory prices forced brands to raise handset prices, hurting consumer demand, according to Counterpoint Research's Monthly India Smartphone Tracker.The research firm expects the pressure to continue through the rest of the year, forecasting a 13% decline in smartphone shipments in 2026 as elevated component costs keep devices expensive and consumers delay upgrades."Smartphone memory prices have increased nearly four times since September 2025 and are expected to rise further," said Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint.

"Affordability will remain the industry's biggest challenge."According to Counterpoint, smartphone makers increased prices multiple times during the first half of the year as memory and other component costs climbed, resulting in an average price hike of around 15% by the end of the second quarter.The impact was most visible in the budget segment. Shipments of smartphones priced below ₹15,000 plunged 45% from a year ago as inflationary pressures and weak discretionary spending prompted consumers to postpone purchases. The research firm said Chinese brands, which have a larger presence in the entry- and mid-range segments, saw their combined market share fall to its lowest level for a second calendar quarter since 2020."Both demand and supply remained under pressure during the quarter," said Prachir Singh, senior analyst at Counterpoint. While higher component costs pushed brands to increase prices, macroeconomic headwinds and weak consumer spending further dampened replacement demand, he said.In response, several smartphone makers expanded their 4G portfolios in the mass-market segment, even as 5G remains the long-term growth driver.The premium end of the market, however, continued to hold up better.

Smartphones priced above ₹45,000 remained relatively resilient, helped by financing schemes that lowered the upfront cost of devices.Among brands, vivo retained the top position with an 18% market share despite weakness in its budget portfolio. Samsung narrowed the gap with the market leader and was the only major smartphone brand to post shipment growth during the quarter, rising 2% year-on-year on the back of strong demand for its Galaxy A and flagship S series devices.OPPO held on to the third spot with a 14% market share, while Xiaomi (including POCO) and realme both reported shipment declines as repeated