India remains key market for global smartphone makers amid evolving demand
Global manufacturers like Xiaomi, Motorola, and iQOO highlight India's evolving demand and the shift toward AI-driven, experience-led devices.
Global smartphone manufacturers are doubling down on India, viewing the nation as an essential, high-growth market that continues to sustain demand despite the rising costs of core components like memory and storage. Speaking at the 10th edition of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026, industry leaders emphasized that while component prices are climbing, the Indian consumer base is maturing and shifting toward advanced, experience-led devices.
Rising Component Costs and Resilient Demand
As the cost of essential hardware such as RAM and storage continues to escalate, the industry is seeing a direct impact on retail pricing. However, manufacturers suggest that the Indian market has already begun to recalibrate to these shifts.
Gautam Batra, Associate Director – Product Marketing at Xiaomi, highlighted that the consumer appetite remains remarkably resilient. "I think the prices are going up for, whether it's RAM, whether it's storage, and in turn the devices prices are also going up," Batra told ANI. He noted that this is an ongoing trend rather than a recent phenomenon, and the market has adapted to these changes. "India is of course a big market for us... it is an aspirational market," Batra added, noting the country's significant weight in Xiaomi's global portfolio.
Shift Toward Human-Centric Experiences
The focus of the Indian consumer is moving away from mere hardware specifications toward integrated, seamless user experiences. Industry experts suggest that buyers are no longer just looking at isolated component data but are prioritizing how a device actually performs in daily life.
Shivam Ranjan, Marketing Head - APAC at Motorola, observed that Indian buyers are becoming more sophisticated. "We are seeing consumers becoming more mature, moving beyond just hard specifications or hardware specifications to now demanding experiences that are human centric and human first," Ranjan stated.
The Next Wave of Flagship Launches
With the market evolving, major players are preparing to launch next-generation devices powered by cutting-edge processing platforms to meet these high expectations:
- Xiaomi: The newly unveiled Xiaomi 18 Pro flagship will feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 platform, aimed at delivering superior graphics, photography, and artificial intelligence performance.
- Motorola: The company is preparing to roll out the Signature 27 in 2026. This handset is expected to be one of the earliest models powered by the Snapdragon 6 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset, integrating agentic AI and advanced camera features.
- iQOO: The brand has announced the upcoming iQOO 16, which will be built around the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 platform. Nipun Marya, CEO of iQOO, described it as their "latest and the fastest smartphone ever," with an imminent launch in India.