India smartphone shipments drop 26% in Q3 to the lowest level since 2016

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. Thus, Q3 2026 saw the lowest smartphone shipments since 2016, despite the start of the festive season. Higher prices and cautious consumer spending were to blame, unsurprisingly, and the latter is most likely caused by the former, so these aren't even really two reasons.

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 theGalaxy A07,Galaxy A17, andGalaxy A27, while theGalaxy S26 series, the new foldables, and theGalaxy S26 FEhelped as well.

vivo slipped to second place with 6.4 million units shipped, down 34% year-on-year, the sharpest decline among the top five, as repeated price hikes disrupted channel inventory planning and constrained entry-level supplies weakened its competitiveness. Its shipments were mainly supported by theY11 5GandY21 5G, while the returning S-series, led by theS2, also contributed.

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 baseiPhone 17andiPhone 16amid the absence of a new base iPhone 18. The late-quarter launch of theiPhone 18 ProandiPhone 18 Pro Maxalso 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% in the year-ago quarter, 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. Apparently, nearly four in ten people in India say useful AI capabilities could make them willing to pay more for a smartphone, so that's something that vendors are likely to try and exploit going forward. Source