The ₹10,000 price point once played an important role in India’s smartphone market. It was the point where smartphones became accessible to a much larger group of buyers, while brands had a huge volume opportunity. In Q3 2022, phones priced below ₹10,000 accounted for 27% of India’s smartphone shipments, according to Counterpoint Research. This was also the period when brands were aggressively bringing 5G, high-refresh-rate displays, larger batteries, and better cameras into lower price segments.
The segment started losing ground over the next couple of years. In 2024, shipments of smartphones priced below ₹10,000 declined by one-third, according to Counterpoint Research. The overall smartphone market still managed to grow slightly in volume that year, while revenue reached a record high as consumers increasingly moved towards more expensive phones. Premium smartphones priced above ₹30,000 also grew at a double-digit rate, helped by trade-in programmes and flexible financing.
The decline has become much more serious in 2026. Smartphone prices in India increased 16% on average during the first half of the year, based on the Counterpoint Research data supplied for this analysis. But the increase was much higher at the bottom of the market. Phones priced below ₹10,000 saw an average price hike of around 32%, while shipments in this segment fell 65% year over year during H1 2026. The ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 segment also declined 20%.
That 65% decline is the number that deserves more attention than the 16% average price increase. It suggests that the problem is no longer simply that budget smartphones are becoming more expensive. The market for these phones itself is shrinking.
The timing is important because manufacturers are dealing with a major increase in component costs. Memory prices have surged as DRAM and NAND supply faces pressure from demand across the technology industry, including AI data centres. A weaker rupee has added another layer of pressure because many smartphone components are imported. Counterpoint Research reported that India’s smartphone shipments fell 10% year over year in Q2 2026, with rising memory prices and higher device prices weakening consumer demand.
This is difficult for phones below ₹10,000 because manufacturers have very little room to absorb higher costs. If memory becomes significantly more expensive, a brand selling a ₹30,000 phone has several ways to distribute that additional cost. A brand selling an ₹8,000 phone has far fewer options. It can raise the price, reduce specifications, accept a lower margin or simply stop pushing as hard in that segment.
A ₹2,000 increase also means something very different at the bottom of the market. Someone shopping for an ₹8,000 phone may not suddenly decide to spend ₹12,000 or ₹15,000 just because the new phone costs more. That buyer may wait for a discount, look for an older model, consider a refurbished phone or continue using the existing device.
This is where the current decline becomes interesting. The industry is not simply moving consumers from one phone to another. Some consumers are being pushed out of the new smartphone market altogether.
We have already seen some of the effects in the products themselves. I recently wrote about why 2026 budget phones feel like step-downs from 2022 models, looking at how the value offered by phones at similar prices has changed. The latest market numbers add another explanation to that trend. When component costs rise but manufacturers still want to maintain a familiar price point, something has to give.
The design of budget phones has changed too. Bigger displays and batteries have become common ways to make affordable phones look more attractive, even when other areas have seen compromises. I recently looked at why budget phones keep getting increasingly large. But the more important question now is whether manufacturers can continue offering these large batteries, displays and other hardware at prices that made the segment attractive in the first place.
The pressure is also changing the relationship between different price segments. While phones below ₹10,000 are seeing a steep decline, devices above ₹20,000 have continued to grow. That may sound strange at a time when consumers are becoming more careful about spending, but there is a simple reason. Buyers in higher price bands have more ways to reduce the effective cost through exchange offers, bank discounts, and no-cost EMI options.
A ₹30,000 smartphone can be made easier to buy when a buyer exchanges an old phone and pays the remaining amount through EMI. The same mechanisms have much less impact on someone looking for an ₹8,000 phone. At that end of the market, the absolute price remains a much bigger barrier.
This is helping push India’s smartphone market towards higher price points. Counterpoint Research reported that India’s smartphone market generated record wholesale revenue in 2024 despite only 1% shipment growth. Premiumization was one of the major reasons, with consumers increasingly buying more expensive phones through trade-ins and flexible financing.
There is another interesting response from manufacturers. 4G phones are making a comeback in parts of the affordable market because removing 5G connectivity gives brands more room to manage costs. Counterpoint Research expects India’s 4G smartphone shipments to grow 3% in 2026, even as the overall smartphone market declines. The number of brands offering 4G models in the ₹10,000 to ₹20,000 range has also increased sharply.
This is a useful reminder that consumers at the lower end are not necessarily demanding every new technology. They want the best phone they can get for their money. If dropping 5G allows a manufacturer to offer more storage, better cameras or a better display at the same price, some buyers will happily make that trade-off.
The refurbished market is another place where this pressure is becoming visible. India’s refurbished smartphone volumes increased 13% year over year in H1 2026, according to Counterpoint Research, even as new smartphone volumes declined. This makes sense when you look at what is happening to prices. A two-year-old premium phone can offer a much better overall hardware experience than a new entry-level phone at a similar price.
Older new phones could also become more attractive. A previous-generation model that has received a significant discount can sometimes offer better value than a newly launched budget phone that has been designed around today’s higher component costs. This is something buyers should keep in mind instead of assuming that the newest phone is automatically the best option.
Sales events are likely to become even more important as well. A phone priced at ₹11,999 can effectively enter the ₹10,000 range after a bank offer or exchange benefit. This means the ₹10,000 category may increasingly survive through discounts rather than through regular retail prices below ₹10,000.
For buyers, this changes the way I would approach the segment. If I had around ₹10,000 to spend today, I would not restrict the search to phones launched in the last few months. I would compare older models, current discounts, and refurbished options from reliable sellers. If the budget can stretch to ₹12,000 or ₹15,000, I would also check what that additional money gets me because the difference between these price bands may now be more meaningful than it was a few years ago.
The bigger issue is what this means for India’s smartphone market. The country did not become one of the world’s largest smartphone markets because everyone started buying expensive devices. Affordable smartphones drove much of that expansion. The ₹10,000 segment gave millions of consumers a way to move from feature phones and basic devices to modern smartphones.
That segment has been shrinking for several years, and the numbers from 2026 suggest the pressure has reached a different level. A 32% average price increase below ₹10,000 combined with a 65% shipment decline is difficult to dismiss as a temporary slowdown.
The ₹10,000 smartphone is not going to disappear from Indian stores overnight. There will still be brands launching phones at or around this price because there is a large consumer base looking for affordable devices. But the economics are changing, and manufacturers have fewer ways to keep adding hardware while maintaining the same price.
The bigger change may be that ₹10,000 is no longer a comfortable starting point for the smartphone market. It is increasingly becoming a price that brands have to work hard to reach through compromises, older hardware or promotional offers.
We have to understand that ₹1 lakh phone becoming slightly more expensive does not affect most smartphone buyers. But an ₹8,000 phone becoming ₹10,000 or ₹11,000 can decide whether someone buys a new smartphone at all.
The ₹10,000 smartphone may survive, but the market that made it possible to get an increasingly capable phone at that price is clearly under pressure.
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