The smartphone buying trend in India is changing rapidly. Earlier, people used to wait for online sales and discounts to buy a new phone as soon as the festival came, but now consumers are spending money according to their needs. The impact of rising phone prices is now being seen in market data as well.

According to a report by market research firm Omdia, smartphone shipments in India fell by 26% year-on-year between July and September of 2026, i.e. third quarter. Only 3.58 crore smartphones were shipped in the country during this period. This is said to be the weakest figure for any third quarter since 2016. Despite the onset of the festive season, the market momentum has not picked up. It hit Chinese brands like Xiaomi and Oppo the most, while Apple’s sales also fell.

Big drop in sales of Chinese brands

Chinese companies, which have long held a strong hold in India’s budget and mid-range smartphone market, suffered losses this quarter. Xiaomi’s shipments fell 28% to 47 lakh units, according to Omdia data. At the same time, Oppo’s shipments fell by 24% and the company could only ship 49 lakh smartphones.

However, Vivo fared better than other Chinese brands. The company shipped 64 lakh smartphones and stood at the second position. On the other hand, premium phone maker Apple’s shipments also fell by 20% to 39 lakh units. Despite this, the company managed to maintain its position among the top 5 brands.

Samsung has become number one despite a slight decline

Amid this decline in the smartphone market, Samsung fared best. The company’s shipments fell by just 1% and shipped 67 lakh smartphones. Samsung is number one in India with about 19% market share.

This figure shows that despite the decline in the market, not all companies have been affected equally. While Xiaomi and Oppo’s shipments fell sharply, Samsung’s sales remained almost flat.

Why is the demand for phones not increasing even during the festive season?

Usually during September, companies prepare their stock for big online sales. But this time there is no movement in the smartphone market like before. According to Sanyam Chaurasia, Principal Analyst, Omdia, there are several reasons behind the slow pace of the market.

The main reason was that Chinese and other foreign companies did not introduce many new and attractive models before online sales. Apart from this, the options for low-cost smartphones have also been limited. With companies’ increasing emphasis on expensive 5G phones, consumers in the budget segment are left with fewer options to choose from.

Discounts and offers available throughout the year have also reduced the speciality of festive sales. Earlier, customers looked forward to huge discounts during festivals, but now with offers available throughout the year, the appeal of sales is not what it used to be.

Now customers don’t want to replace old phones soon

One of the important reasons for the decline in the market is the changing mindset of consumers. Earlier, people changed their phones every one and a half to two years when they got a new design or a better camera. Now many people are using the same smartphone for three-four years. Due to inflation, people want to spend ₹20,000 to ₹25,000 to buy a new phone only when the old phone has a major defect.

Apart from this, sometimes the new models see only limited changes compared to the previous phones, while the price increases. In such a situation, consumers are now choosing to use their old device for a long time instead of buying a new phone in a hurry. This change is becoming a big challenge for smartphone companies.

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