India’s smartphone market: Shipments rise 3% in Q3 2025; Vivo leads with 20% share, Apple re-enters top five

India’s smartphone market grew modestly by 3 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2025, with 48.4 million units shipped, according to research by Omdia. Despite this growth, analysts caution that momentum may not extend into the year-end festive period.As per news agency PTI, the uptick was largely driven by new launches in July and August, aggressive retail incentives, and an earlier festive season that pulled forward inventory flows. Omdia explained that shipped units refer to devices leaving factory premises to distributors or sales channels, not necessarily sold to end consumers.“Q3’s momentum was largely sustained through incentive-led channel push rather than pure consumer recovery,” said Sanyam Chaurasia, principal analyst at Omdia, highlighting that organic demand remained limited. Vendors deployed marketing strategies such as cash-per-unit bonuses, tiered margins, dealer contests, zero-down-payment EMIs, micro-instalments, bundled accessories, and extended warranties to stimulate channel absorption and consumer purchases.Among manufacturers, Vivo (excluding iQOO) led the market with 9.7 million units and a 20 per cent share, followed by Samsung at 6.8 million units (14 per cent). Xiaomi overtook

OPPO

to claim the third spot, both shipping 6.5 million units.

Apple

re-entered the top five with 4.9 million units, achieving its highest-ever shipments in India for Q3, securing a 10 per cent market share, as per PTI. Chaurasia noted that smaller cities contributed significantly, with upgrades from older iPhones and strong traction for the iPhone 17 base model supporting sales.Despite the strong channel activity, concerns remain over urban consumer sentiment. “Urban consumers continue to delay upgrades due to employment uncertainties and rising cost sensitivity, despite better product availability and financing schemes,” Chaurasia said. Rural demand has remained stable but is insufficient to offset cautious urban behaviour, raising the risk of inventory build-up in Q4.Looking ahead, Omdia expects full-year 2025 smartphone sales to see a modest decline, reflecting a fragile recovery cycle sensitive to economic factors and channel corrections.