India’s smartphone market declined 4.1% year-on-year in Q1 2026, with shipments dropping to almost 31 million units, reports IDC. The slowdown came as rising RAM and storage costs, driven by the global AI-led memory shortage, pushed smartphone prices higher and weakened consumer demand, particularly in the budget segment. Budget smartphones were hit the hardest, while average selling prices in India increased to a record $302 (~ ₹29,000) as brands pushed more premium devices. Meanwhile, globally, smartphone shipments also declined 2.9% year-over-year to 293.8 million units in Q1 2026 after 10 consecutive quarters of growth.
The crisis has become one of the biggest disruptions for the smartphone market in recent years. As AI infrastructure spending surged worldwide, memory manufacturers increasingly diverted DRAM and NAND production toward high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI servers and data centers. This reduced the supply of memory chips available for consumer electronics, especially smartphones, causing smartphone component prices to rise sharply in late 2025 and early 2026. And India, one of the world’s most price-sensitive smartphone markets, was heavily impacted. Budget smartphones, especially the sub-$100 segment, witnessed the sharpest-ever decline as manufacturers struggled to maintain profitability in the low-cost segment.
Despite all this, India’s smartphone market continued to rapidly premiumizing. IDC reported that average smartphone selling prices reached a record $302 during Q1 2026, clearly showing the growing shift toward mid-range and premium devices. The premiumization trend was visible across nearly every major brand. Smartphones in the ₹20,000-₹50,000 category continued performing relatively well, even as low-cost devices witnessed declining demand.
According to IDC’s Q1 2026 rankings, Vivo remained the country’s largest smartphone brand with a 19.6% market share, slightly down from 19.7% a year earlier, as its shipments declined 4% year-on-year. Samsung strengthened its position by increasing market share from 16.4% to 17.1% while maintaining flat shipment growth. OPPO emerged as the fastest-growing major brand during the quarter, with market share jumping from 12% to 15.3% and shipments rising 22% year-on-year. Apple ranked fourth with a 9.4% market share compared to 9.5% last year, while Motorola recorded strong growth with market share rising from 7.5% to 8.9%, along with a 14% increase in shipments.
Several online-focused smartphone brands faced sharp pressure during Q1 2026 as weakening budget demand affected sales. For example, Realme recorded one of the steepest declines among major brands, with market share dropping from 10.6% to 8.8% and shipments falling 20% year-on-year. Poco’s shipments declined 14%, while iQOO saw a sharper 23% drop. OnePlus witnessed the biggest decline among the top 10 brands, with its market share falling from 2.4% to 1.7%. Xiaomi managed modest growth despite pressure in the budget category, increasing its market share from 7.8% to 8.4% with 3% shipment growth.
Another major trend during Q1 2026 was the increasing importance of offline retail channels. Premium and mid-range smartphones are increasingly being purchased through physical stores where consumers can access EMI financing, exchange programs, demonstrations, and after-sales support.
Globally, the smartphone market also entered a difficult phase during Q1 2026. Worldwide shipments declined to 293.8 million units, ending a 10-quarter growth streak that had continued since 2023. Samsung remained the global smartphone leader during the quarter with over 62 million shipments and around 21% market share, narrowly ahead of Apple. However, several Chinese smartphone companies experienced shipment declines because of their heavier dependence on low-cost Android segments that were more vulnerable to rising memory prices.
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Ashutosh is a Senior Writer at The Tech Portal, largely reporting on new tech, and intersection of technology and business. Ashutosh’s career spans across nearly a decade of technology writing across multiple platforms and languages.
