Rising memory chip prices are casting varying impacts on India's smartphone market. As costs soar, Chinese brands are finding it difficult to maintain low-price strategies, while mid- to high-end brands such as Samsung and Apple (AAPL.US) are benefiting from consumers shifting toward higher-priced smartphones and improved financing plans that enhance affordability, experts told CNBC.

Experts said the era of smartphones priced below USD150 is nearing an end. After existing inventories are depleted, new models with similar features will need to be priced significantly higher to reflect rising memory costs.

Neil Shah, Co-founder of Counterpoint Research, said prices of new Chinese smartphones in India may rise from below USD150 previously to between USD200 and USD250, while prices in the sub-USD150 category have already lifted by as much as 40%.

IDC reported last week that smartphone shipments in India dropped to 64.2 million units in 1H26, with the entry-level segment posting a plunge. Sales volume dropped 7.9% YoY, but sales value added 3.6% YoY as the average selling price rose 14.4% YoY to a record USD315.

IDC said Chinese smartphone brands are finding it difficult to persuade "price-sensitive consumers" to purchase devices at higher prices, leading to notable sales declines. During the same period, the iPhone 17 became the top-shipping smartphone model for two consecutive quarters.

As of the June quarter, Vivo's shipments sank 13.9% YoY, Oppo lost 8.5%, XIAOMI-W (01810.HK) declined 10%, and Realme fell 14.2%, IDC data showed. OnePlus, which focuses on the premium market, recorded the smallest downfall at 2.5% YoY.

Shah said when memory chip prices began rising last year, many Chinese smartphone brands shifted to using chips from UNISOC and CXMT (688825.SH) to temporarily maintain market share, but the arrangement is difficult to sustain.

He noted that CXMT has recently raised funds to expand production capacity to serve China's AI and data center markets, with resources shifting toward high-end products.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

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