According to a new report by Omdia, India's smartphone shipments fell by 26% to 35.8 million units in the third quarter (July to September) compared to the same period last year. Q3 2026 therefore recorded the lowest smartphone shipments since 2016, despite the start of the festive season. Higher prices and cautious consumer spending were to blame, and the latter is most likely caused by the former.
Samsung regained the top spot for the first time since Q1 2024, shipping 6.7 million units for about 19% of the market. Its top sellers were the Galaxy A07, Galaxy A17, and Galaxy A27, while the Galaxy S26 series, the new foldables, and the Galaxy S26 FE also helped. vivo slipped to second place with 6.4 million units, down 34% year-on-year, the sharpest decline among the top five. Repeated price hikes disrupted channel inventory planning and constrained entry-level supplies. Oppo ranked third with 4.9 million units, down 24%, while Xiaomi was fourth with 4.7 million units, down 28%, as rising component costs weakened its value proposition.
Apple rounded out the top five with 3.9 million units, supported by channel stocking ahead of anticipated price hikes and sustained demand for the base iPhone 17 and iPhone 16. The late-quarter launch of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max also gained momentum, helped by bank cashback, exchange bonuses, and no-cost EMI schemes. The combined market share of Chinese brands fell to approximately 68% in the third quarter, down from 75% a year earlier, while Samsung and Apple strengthened their positions.
Looking ahead, Omdia expects India's market to decline by a further low-single-digit percentage in 2027, with pricing pressures likely to persist through at least the first half of the year. Nearly four in ten people in India say useful AI capabilities could make them willing to pay more for a smartphone, a opportunity vendors are likely to try to exploit.
Source: GSMArena · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing