Chinese smartphone brands lose India market share as chip costs soar

New Delhi: The share of Chinese smartphone brands in the Indian market shrank to 67-68% in the July-September quarter, the lowest in more than eight years, as record-high memory chip prices led them to cut budget models — a segment that traditionally drove their sales.

Technology market research firm Omdia estimates the share of Chinese brands at 68% in the last quarter, compared with 71% in the previous three months and 75% a year earlier. The peak was 80%, recorded in the April-June quarter of 2020. According to Counterpoint Research, they had a 67% share, the lowest since the first quarter of 2019.