IDC: India's smartphone market declined 4.1% in Q1, vivo still dominates

"IDC says "rising memory prices drove brands to front-load channel inventory ahead of anticipated cost escalations, pushing shipment volumes above initial expectations". Even so, "consumer demand remained subdued", weighed down by elevated device prices and "cautious spending sentiment"."

""consumers in sub-$100 brackets are being pushed upmarket by necessity rather than aspiration" and this is a trend that "reshapes demand forecasting for 2026 and beyond". Companies that rely a lot on selling a lot of entry-level devices "face shrinking margins and reduced market viability" as memory prices continue to rise."

"vivo still leads the pack in India, with a 19.6% market share for Q1 of this year compared to 19.7% in the year-ago quarter. Its shipments have fallen pretty much in line with the overall market. Samsung is second with flat sales and a 17.1% market share, followed by Oppo with the biggest sales growth year-on-year: 22%, for a market share of 15.3%."

"That said, no brand has done worse than OnePlus this quarter, which had the biggest sales decline at 32% less versus Q1 2025. OnePlus now has just 1.7% market share, and it used to be 2.4% just one year ago."

India’s smartphone market shipped 31 million units in Q1, down 4.1% year over year, while market value increased 5.8%. Rising memory prices led brands to front-load channel inventory ahead of expected cost escalations, lifting shipments above initial expectations. Consumer demand stayed subdued because device prices were elevated and spending sentiment remained cautious. vivo led the market with 19.6% share, slightly down from 19.7% a year earlier, while Samsung held second with 17.1% share and flat sales. Oppo grew shipments 22% for 15.3% share, and Motorola grew 14% to 8.9% share. OnePlus had the steepest decline at 32% and fell to 1.7% share. Sub-$100 buyers are moving upmarket by necessity, reshaping demand forecasting for 2026 and beyond and pressuring margins for entry-level-focused companies.

Read at GSMArena.com