India’s budget 5G phone market explodes with 1,900% growth in 2025

India’s affordable 5G smartphone segment recorded a surge of over 1,900 per cent year-on-year in 2025, driven by aggressive pricing strategies, wider availability of entry-level 5G chipsets and expanding nationwide 5G network coverage, according to a report by CyberMedia Research (CMR).

The report noted that India’s smartphone market entered a phase of structural transition in 2025. The most significant shift occurred in the Rs 6,000–Rs 8,000 price segment, where affordable 5G devices saw explosive growth. Overall, 5G smartphones accounted for 88 per cent of total shipments, reflecting a 12 per cent year-on-year increase and signalling that 5G has become the market default rather than a premium feature.

Apple recorded 25 per cent year-on-year growth in India, reaching a 9 per cent market share. The base iPhone 16 model contributed 47 per cent of total iPhone 16 series volumes, indicating strong consumer preference for the entry-level variant over Pro and Plus models.

“2025 was a year of recalibration rather than contraction for India’s smartphone market. While overall volumes softened marginally, the fundamentals remained strong. The rapid scaling of affordable 5G, resilient premium demand, and the rise of challenger brands point to a market that is evolving structurally, not weakening,” said Menka Kumari, Senior Analyst, Industry Intelligence Group at CMR.

Large-screen smartphones continued to dominate consumer preference. Devices with 6.7-inch and larger displays accounted for nearly 80 per cent of total shipments in 2025, firmly establishing bigger screens as the standard.

Meanwhile, the feature phone market continued to decline. Shipments of 2G feature phones fell 12 per cent year-on-year, while 4G feature phone shipments declined sharply by 48 per cent.

In the chipset segment, MediaTek led the overall smartphone market with a 45 per cent share, while Qualcomm maintained dominance in the premium smartphone category with a 34 per cent share, according to the report.

Looking ahead to 2026, analysts expect higher component and memory costs to exert pricing pressure. “Elevated component and memory costs are expected to keep pricing under pressure, leading to more measured purchasing behaviour through the year,” said Pankaj Jadli, Analyst, Industry Intelligence Group at CMR.

The report added that consumers are not exiting the smartphone market but are becoming more selective, extending device lifecycles and upgrading only when the value proposition is compelling.
(With IANS inputs)