Chinese handset makers lost further ground in India's smartphone market during the June quarter, with their collective market share dropping to its lowest level since 2020 as rising prices dented demand in the budget segment. Overall smartphone shipments declined 10 percent year-on-year, marking the biggest June-quarter fall in six years, Counterpoint Research said.
Counterpoint said Chinese brands such as Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, iQoo and Poco, which derive a significant portion of their volumes from affordable smartphones, lost market share as consumers delayed purchases. In response, several manufacturers expanded their 4G portfolios to cater to value-conscious buyers, even as 5G remains the long-term growth driver.
The research firm expects the pressure to persist through the rest of 2026, forecasting a 13 percent decline in annual smartphone shipments as memory prices, which have risen nearly four-fold since September 2025, continue to remain elevated.
According to Counterpoint Research's Monthly India Smartphone Tracker, repeated price hikes driven by surging DRAM and NAND memory costs, coupled with inflationary pressures and weak discretionary spending, extended smartphone replacement cycles despite aggressive promotional campaigns and financing schemes.
"The market remained under pressure as both demand and supply were adversely affected," said Prachir Singh, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research. "Almost every major smartphone brand implemented multiple rounds of price hikes, resulting in an average smartphone price increase of around 15 percent by the end of the quarter. The sub-Rs 15,000 segment was the worst affected, with shipments declining 45 percent year-on-year," Singh said.
Research director Tarun Pathak said that India’s smartphone market is expected to remain under pressure through the rest of the year. "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,"
Despite the overall slowdown, the premium smartphone market remained relatively resilient as easy financing reduced upfront purchase costs.
Among smartphone brands, Vivo retained the top position with an 18 percent market share, although its shipments declined year-on-year as higher prices impacted its budget Y and T series. Samsung was the only top-five smartphone maker to register growth, expanding shipments by 2 percent year-on-year on the back of strong demand for its Galaxy A and flagship S series devices.
Oppo held the third spot with a 14 percent market share, while Xiaomi (including POCO) and Realme rounded out the top five after both recorded shipment declines due to repeated price increases in their mass-market portfolios.
Apple's shipments declined 3 percent year-on-year, with supply constraints limiting growth despite healthy demand for the iPhone 17 series.
Among emerging brands, Nothing was the fastest-growing smartphone maker, with shipments surging 105 percent year-on-year, driven by strong demand for the Phone (4a) series and increased visibility from its title sponsorship of Royal Challengers Bengaluru during the IPL.
In the premium segment priced above Rs 45,000, Google Pixel posted the highest growth at 68 percent year-on-year, supported by aggressive marketing, rapid offline expansion and stable pricing.
Counterpoint also noted that financing continued to reshape buying behaviour, with more than half of smartphone sales through mainline retail channels being financed via NBFCs or EMI schemes during the quarter.