According to a report by CyberMedia Research (CMR), India’s 5G smartphone shipments grew 14 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the January–March (Q1) 2025 quarter, accounting for 86 per cent of the total smartphone shipments. Notably, the Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 price band witnessed over 100 per cent YoY growth, indicating rising demand for affordable 5G devices.
As per the report, vivo led the 5G smartphone market with a 21 per cent share, followed by Samsung at 19 per cent. Despite the rise in 5G adoption, overall smartphone shipments fell 7 per YoY. In the broader smartphone market, vivo retained the top position with a 20 per cent share, trailed by Samsung (18 per cent), Xiaomi (13 per cent), Oppo (12 per cent), and Realme (11 per cent). While Vivo saw 20 per cent YoY growth, Xiaomi’s shipments plunged 37 per cent, owing to challenges in its budget and value segments.
Further, Motorola posted a 53 per cent growth on the back of strong product differentiation and a competitive 5G line-up. London-based Nothing recorded over 200 per cent growth, fuelled by its new models, Phone (3a) Pro and Phone (3a). Apple grew 25 per cent YoY, capturing 8 per cent market share, buoyed by the success of its iPhone 16 series and an expanded retail footprint. Its share in the super-premium (Rs 50,000 to Rs 1,00,000) and uber-premium (more than Rs 1,00,000) categories rose 28 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
Meanwhile, the affordable smartphone segment (sub-Rs 7,000) inched up 3 per cent, whereas the Rs 7,000 to Rs 25,000 segment shrank 6 per cent, reflecting a shift towards premium 5G and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered smartphones.
Meanwhile, MediaTek continued to dominate the chipset market with a 46 per cent share, while Qualcomm led in the premium smartphone segment (more than Rs 25,000) with a 35 per cent share.
Moreover, the report mentioned that the 2G feature phone segment declined 17 per cent, while 4G feature phones saw a sharp 66 per cent drop. The report also projected that the Indian smartphone market will see modest, single-digit growth in calendar year 2025.
