Inflated Memory Prices Devastate India’s Sub Rs10,000 Smartphone Market
India’s once-thriving sub-₹10,000 smartphone market has recently plummeted, largely attributed to an extraordinary ninefold increase in memory prices over the past nine months.
This inflation has rendered it financially infeasible for manufacturers to maintain sales within this price segment.
From a commendable 18% market share in the smartphone sector in the third quarter of calendar year 2025 (Q3CY25), the entry-level category has dramatically shrunk to a mere 4% by Q2CY26—a staggering decline in just one year.
The inflation of memory prices is fundamentally reshaping the entry-level smartphone landscape in India.
As the costs of memory and other critical components escalate, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are repositioning their entry-level offerings into higher price tiers rather than absorbing the increased expenses.
Consequently, the share of the sub-₹10,000 category has seen a notable diminishment, articulated Counterpoint Research Analyst Shubham Singh, shedding light on this seismic shift.
High memory expenses have resulted in an average increase in mobile phone prices by 15%, with projections indicating an additional rise of 5-7% in the upcoming quarter, thereby exerting even more upward pressure on retail prices.
As of June 2026, the share of memory costs in entry-level devices has exceeded 45%, more than doubling from its previous 15-20%.
This surge has severely constricted profit margins, leaving scant opportunities for manufacturers to economize through downgraded specifications.
Additionally, the ₹10,000-20,000 smartphone bracket is feeling the strain, albeit to a lesser degree. This segment retains some resiliency, as basic models transition to higher price ranges, resulting in only a slight market share reduction from 47% in Q4CY25 to 46% in Q2CY26.
Beneficiaries of these price alterations are found within two specific segments: smartphones priced between ₹20,000 and ₹30,000, and premium devices in the ₹30,000-45,000 range.
The former category has witnessed its volume share climb to 25% in Q2CY26, while the latter’s share has expanded from 6% in Q4CY25 to 10% in Q2CY26.
Nonetheless, despite the prevailing trend of premiumisation within the smartphone market, the super-premium segment, comprising devices valued over ₹45,000, paints a distinct picture.
Yet all hope is not lost for the entry-level smartphone segment. Just a few years prior, semiconductor giants like Qualcomm and MediaTek were fervently engaged in devising chipsets that would render 5G smartphones feasible within the ₹10,000 price range, striving to broaden the reach of advanced telecom services. They successfully partnered with OEMs to transform these aspirations into tangible products.
Source link: Business-standard.com.
