India's smartphone shipments fall 26 per cent in Q3; Samsung regains top spot

Market research firm Omdia in a report on Monday said the countrys smartphone market is expected to have slipped to a decadal low with a 26 per cent decline in shipments in the third quarter of 2026 according to news agency PTIIndias smartphone market shipments are estimated to have declined 26 per cent yearonyear YoY to 358 million units in 3Q26 marking their lowest thirdquarter shipment volume since 2016 despite the start of the festive season the report saidIt attributed the decline to factors such as higher smartphone prices and cautious consumer spending which reduced the replacement demand This prompted vendors to adopt conservative inventory strategiesThe report said the softer onlinefocused shipments added to the pressure Besides the shift in the festive season calendar with Diwali pushed to November added to the contraction during the September quarter as a significant portion of offline festive inventory buildup was transferred from September into OctoberSamsung regains top positionSouth Korean giant Samsung claimed the top position despite a marginal dip in shipments Global tech major Apple was among the top five players in the market during the quarter even though its shipments declined 20 per cent over last year Chinese firms such as Vivo Oppo and Xiaomi witnessed a decline in shipmentsSamsung regained the top spot for the first time since the first quarter of 2024 shipping 67 million units supported by the Galaxy A07 A17 and A27 The Galaxy S26 series new Z foldables and S26 FE broadened its highervalue portfolio while bank cashback exchange benefits and longertenure financing supported upgrades across price tiers it saidSamsung had a 19 per cent market share despite a yearonyear dip of around 1 per cent in shipments to 67 million units during the reported quarterChinese smartphone players shipments declineChinese firm Vivo is estimated to have recorded the steepest fall in shipments of 34 per cent on year to 64 million units from 97 million units The company slipped to second spot with 18 per cent market share in the smartphone segmentXiaomis shipments during the third quarter ended September are estimated at 47 million units a fall of 28 per cent from 65 million units in the corresponding quarter in the previous yearOppo too is expected to have seen its shipments decline by 24 per cent to 49 million units during the reported quarter from 65 million units a year agoApple strengthens its positionApple featured in the top five smartphone players with shipments totalling 39 million units driven by channel inventory buildup ahead of expected price increases and steady demand for the base iPhone 17 and iPhone 16 models amid the absence of a new base iPhone 18The latequarter launch of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max helped Apple gain momentum supported by bank cashback exchange bonuses and flexible nocost EMI schemes according to PTIOmdia Principal Analyst Sanyam Chaurasia noted that September has traditionally been an important month for building inventory ahead of major online sales events However shipment growth was weaker this year during the month with fewer exclusive product launches limited availability of affordable devices and smaller promotional price gaps diminished the online channels usual advantage during the festive seasonThis has disproportionately affected Chinese OEMs whose combined market share fell to approximately 68 per cent in 3Q26 from 75 per cent in 3Q25 In contrast Samsung and Apple strengthened their positions through premium portfolios strong consumer demand established channel partnerships and structured upgrade programs Chaurasia saidWith inputs from PTI