India’s Smartphone Market Crashes 20 Percent, Phones Under Rs 20,000 Shipments Fall 47 Percent

India's smartphone market just had its weakest July to September quarter in a decade. Shipments fell 20 percent year on year in Q3 2026, according to Counterpoint Research, and the budget segment took the hardest hit. Shipments of phones priced under Rs 20,000 dropped 47 percent, nearly half of what they were a year ago.

The main culprit is memory chips. Record-high memory prices pushed up the cost of making phones, and brands passed that on to buyers. With demand already soft, companies also held back on stocking up stores, even ahead of the festive season.

The Rs 15,000 phone is in trouble

Counterpoint research analyst Shubham Singh called Q3 a "realignment" for the Indian market. Rising component costs, he said, have hurt affordability and weakened the mass market, "particularly below INR 15,000." Buyers are delaying upgrades and holding on to their phones for longer, while brands are focusing on protecting margins rather than chasing volumes.

That has a direct effect on what you will find in stores. Counterpoint says brands are introducing more 4G and lower-specification models and cutting back on specs in some price segments to hold prices steady. In other words, the same budget could get you a less capable phone than it did last year.

And prices may not stop rising. Research director Tarun Pathak expects another round of price hikes after the festive season sale, and says India's smartphone market could shrink by around 13 percent in 2026. He also expects no-cost EMIs and exchange offers to become even more important for people trying to afford an upgrade.

Samsung back at number one

Samsung reclaimed the top spot after nine quarters with a 17 percent share, up from 13 percent a year ago. It was the only brand in the top five to grow year on year. Counterpoint credits the Galaxy A series, a balanced online and offline strategy and relatively measured price hikes. Samsung's new passport-style foldables also found buyers.

vivo, excluding iQOO, slipped to second with a 16 percent share, down from 20 percent. OPPO held third place at 12 percent, helped by triple-digit growth in phones above Rs 20,000. Xiaomi, including POCO, was fourth at 12 percent and emerged as the top brand in the Rs 10,001 to Rs 20,000 band.

Apple's share dipped slightly to 8 percent, but the iPhone 18 Pro series got off to a strong start. Its initial sales in India were nearly 20 percent higher than the iPhone 17 Pro series last year.

Indian brands are quietly gaining

The more surprising story is further down the list. Indian brands grew their combined share from 2 percent to 7 percent, mostly by pushing into lower price segments. Ai+ Smartphone was the fastest-growing brand in the country, with shipments up 306 percent year on year.

Transsion's itel grew 88 percent on the back of 4G phones under Rs 15,000, and Google's shipments grew over 50 percent with the new Pixel 11 series. On the chip side, MediaTek stayed on top with a 45 percent share, while UNISOC made a comeback as brands looked to cut costs in cheaper phones.

Counterpoint expects 2027 to stay difficult, with growth shifting towards premium and upper mid-range phones while the mass market remains under pressure. These figures are preliminary estimates and may be revised.