Smartphone shipments slip, Chinese brands lose ground

India's smartphone market witnessed its sharpest contraction in recent quarters in July–September, with shipments plummeting 26% to 35.8 million units, according to market research firm Omdia. This decline marked the lowest third-quarter volume since 2016. The slump altered the market hierarchy, with Samsung overtaking Vivo to claim the top spot, while Chinese brands' combined share dwindled to around 68% from 75% the previous year.

Samsung's shipments surged to 6.7 million units, reclaiming the top position for the first time since early 2024. Their affordable Galaxy A-series played a crucial role in driving volumes, while cashback offers, exchanges, and longer financing plans attracted buyers across price ranges. Vivo's shipments tumbled 34% to 6.4 million, the steepest decline among the top five, due to repeated price hikes disrupting inventory planning and limited supplies of entry-level devices.

Xiaomi's traditional appeal of offering features at competitive prices also faced pressure as shipments fell 28% to 4.7 million. Rising component costs forced manufacturers to make trade-offs on pricing and memory configurations. OPPO secured the third position with 4.9 million units, down 24%. Apple ranked fifth with 3.9 million iPhone 16 and base iPhone 17 shipments, supported by stocking ahead of anticipated price hikes.

Omdia principal analyst Sanyam Chaurasia attributed the market's weakness to fewer exclusive launches, limited affordable SKUs, and narrowing promotional differences, which eroded the traditional online channel's festive advantage. The figures represent supplies to sellers, not purchases by consumers, but Omdia anticipates another low-single-digit decline in 2027, with pricing pressures persisting through at least the first half of the year as consumers hold onto their devices longer.