During the January-March period of 2025, shipments of 5G smartphones had the upper hand in the Indian market, commanding a share of 86% in total shipments, up by a 14% year-on-year (YoY) margin, as per CyberMedia Research (CMR) report.
The need for budget 5G smartphones, especially those costing between Rs 8,000 and Rs 13,000, witnessed a stunning increase with more than 100% YoY growth. The rising popularity of budget 5G phones reflects the rising consumer trend towards 5G availability. Vivo dominated the market with a 21% share, followed by Samsung with 19%.
The higher-end segment of the smartphone market also remained in growth, supported by high demand for 5G-capable and AI-prepared smartphones. The report showed that under Rs 10,000 smartphones saw a record 500% YoY growth in Q1 2025, indicating healthy consumer demand for 5G at affordable prices.
Brands like Xiaomi, POCO, Motorola, and Realme are driving this boom in the value segment of 5G. The budget segment managed a meager 3% YoY growth, while the value-for-money segment recorded a dip of 6%, which indicates that the trends are shifting towards premium products.
Apple, on the other hand, achieved a 25% YoY growth and attained an 8% market share in India on the back of the success of the iPhone 16 series, including the iPhone 16e. The super-premium segment market share of the company increased by 28%, while the ultra-premium segment (handsets priced above Rs 1,00,000) grew by 15%.
Looking forward to the remainder of 2025, CMR expects the Indian smartphone market to witness moderate growth with single-digit shipment increases. The market dynamics will be influenced by three factors: the mainstreaming of budget 5G, the embedding of AI features in devices, and the increasing trend towards local manufacturing due to geopolitical changes.
Prabhu Ram, VP at CMR, stated, "As the premium segment speeds up because of AI integration, brands that fail to move beyond price-based competition in the value-for-money segment will suffer margin pressures and become less relevant." He further stated that budget 5G is now a base requirement, and India stands to become a key player in the international smartphone value chain.
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