Chinese smartphone brands, once dominant in India's budget segment, are losing market share as Samsung and Apple capitalize on the world's second-largest smartphone market.
India's Q2 shipments fell 11.1% YoY as AI chip demand squeezed budget segment; Chinese brands lost 10-14% each. Data center RAM demand reshapes emerging markets: affordability now competes on financing, not hardware margins—a structural strategic shift.
Apple and Samsung gained market share
Aug 20, 2026
03:57 pm
What's the storyIndia's smartphone market, the second largest in the world, is witnessing a major shift.
The change comes mostly due to a global shortage of memory and storage chips, often referred to as 'RAMpocalypse.' The crisis is triggered by heavy demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
Memory and storage now account for more than 60% of production costs for some budget smartphones and over 30% for premium models
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