India’s smartphone market just had its worst quarter in six years | Infinium-tech

According to a new report by Counterpoint Research (CR), the Indian smartphone market had its weakest quarter in six years between January and March. Shipments declined 3% compared to the first quarter of last year.

Vivo still leads with 20.8% share, followed by Samsung (17.4%), Oppo (13.6%), Apple (9%), Realme (8.9%), Xiaomi (7.9%), Poco (4.2%), iQOO (2.6%), and OnePlus (1.8%). The largest increase came from Nothing (including the CMF sub-brand): 47%. The fastest growing brand in the premium (above INR 45,000) segment was Google, with a growth of 39%, interestingly enough. However, neither of them were in the top 5.

Oppo grew 8% year-on-year and was the fastest growing brand in the top 5. Growth was surprisingly driven by the good performance of the A and K series, but mid-range Renault models also performed well. Xiaomi’s INR 10,000-20,000 segment witnessed double-digit growth.

A few notes regarding the above image: First, we don’t know why Apple is not depicted in the pie; Second, as you can see, CR extracts sub-brands from the main brand, publishing the numbers separately, but this presentation does not mean that Poco was sixth (or seventh, if we include Apple) in sales in Q1. Market share of sub-brands is shown for informational purposes only.

CR researchers predict a double-digit decline in sales in the second quarter compared to the second quarter of 2025, “as increased memory prices and weak entry-level demand continue to weigh on overall volumes”. For the full year, the market is projected to decline 10% compared to 2025, as memory prices impact affordability and lengthen replacement cycles.

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