India Smartphone Shipments Dip 7% in Q4 2025 Amid Inventory & Price Pressures

• India's smartphone shipments fell 7% year-on-year to 34.5 million units in the Oct-Dec 2025 quarter, driven by post-festive slowdown, high inventory, depreciating rupee, and rising memory costs.
• Omdia forecasts a mid-single-digit decline for India's smartphone market in 2026 due to higher prices and limited value delaying upgrades.
• Vivo maintained its leadership in Q4 2025 with 23% market share (7.9 million units) and also led for the full year; Samsung, Oppo, Xiaomi, and Apple followed.
• Vivo and Oppo were the only major brands to achieve double-digit year-on-year growth in Q4, attributed to strong retail execution and disciplined strategies.
• Brands are expected to focus on cost discipline, channel execution, and value growth in the 'flagship killer' segment (Rs 25,000-Rs 60,000) in 2026.

Why It Matters: India's smartphone market faced a significant Q4 2025 decline due to inventory and price hikes, with a challenging 2026 expected.