India’s smartphone market is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate, particularly at the lower end of the price spectrum, due to rising memory and component costs. The sub-INR 15,000 segment is already under pressure as margins are already thin and consumers remain highly price-sensitive. However, the same challenges are also creating an opportunity for a new set of brands to enter the market.
Traditional smartphone brands have built their portfolios around certain minimum specifications and feature expectations. Moving too far below these standards risks affecting their brand positioning and consumer perception. As component costs rise, this leaves them with limited flexibility to reduce specifications or lower device costs. New brands have fewer such constraints. They can use older-generation or more cost-effective components across chipsets, memory, camera sensors and displays to build devices targeted specifically at price-sensitive consumers. While this may not allow them to compete directly with established brands on specifications, it can help them reach price points that are becoming increasingly difficult for larger OEMs to address profitably.
However, the opportunity is largely concentrated at the affordable and mid-end price segment of the market. New brands are unlikely to make a significant push into the premium segment in the near term, where purchase decisions are more closely tied to brand trust, product reliability, ecosystem integration and perceived brand value. These are areas where established players have a significant advantage and where newer brands will need time to build credibility.
The revival of Indian smartphone brands had already started in 2025, with new players entering the market across price segments. AI+ entered the entry-level segment around mid-year, while Wobble entered the mid-range segment toward the end of the year. However, their early performance has been mixed. Wobble has so far had limited impact on the broader Indian smartphone market, while AI+ has gained decent traction and recently emerged as a leading player in its price segment.
Before the arrival of these new entrants, Lava was the only major Indian smartphone brand with a substantial presence in the market. Despite the increased competition, Lava has managed to hold its ground, highlighting the importance of established brands, distribution network and consumer trust in a market where price competition is intense.
Read full report: New Smartphone Players are Capitalizing on India’s Affordable Price Segment
