India\u2019s 4G smartphone market is set to recover in 2026 and show a shipment growth of nearly 3% year-on-year after a 48% year-on-year decline in 2025, Counterpoint Research said on Monday.<\/p>\n
4G smartphone segment\u2019s share in the overall market is set to rise to 13% this year, compared to 11% in 2025, the research agency said in a report. It attributed this to a widening price gap between 4G and 5G mobile handsets as a result of rising component costs, which has made 5G smartphones costlier for consumers.<\/p>\n
As a result, consumers in the entry-segment, defined as sub-\u20b910,000, and the budget segment, which is between \u20b910,000-20,000, are migrating to 4G devices for better specifications and value at a lower price. <\/p>\n
Handset makers are also expanding their 4G portfolios into the \u20b910,000-20,000 band to cater to this demand and fill the gaps created as 5G models move up the price ladder, it said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIndia\u2019s 4G recovery is increasingly extending beyond the traditional entry-level segment, with demand gaining momentum across the sub-\u20b920,000 price range. The \u20b910,000-\u20b920,000 segment is emerging as a key growth area as consumers seek better specifications and device experiences without the higher price associated with 5G,\u201d said Senior Analyst Prachir Singh. <\/p>\n
The number of handset makers offering 4G models in the budget price band has increased from just two in 2025 to 12 in 2026 so far, as per Counterpoint. <\/p>\n
\u201cLooking ahead, 4G is set to become a more meaningful part of India\u2019s smartphone market, with its share expected to rise from 13% in 2026 to 15% in 2027. This growth reflects a broader shift in the role of 4G, rather than simply a short-term response to higher smartphone prices, as component prices are unlikely to normalise soon,\u201d said Research Director Tarun Pathak. <\/p>\n
Pathak added that the broader price-value positioning will support continued 4G demand, while encouraging OEMs to expand their portfolios with more capable 4G devices. \u201cThis could mark a shift in how 4G is positioned in India, from an entry-level connectivity choice to a broader value proposition.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
India\u2019s 4G smartphone market is set to recover in 2026 and show a shipment growth of nearly 3% year-on-year after a 48% year-on-year decline in 2025, Counterpoint Research said on Monday. 4G smartphone segment\u2019s share in the overall market is set to rise to 13% this year, compared to 11% in 2025, the research agency said in a report. It attributed this to a widening price gap between 4G and 5G mobile handsets as a result of rising component costs, which has made 5G smartphones costlier for consumers. As a result, consumers in the entry-segment, defined as sub-\u20b910,000, and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1039182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-telecom"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1039182"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1039193,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039182\/revisions\/1039193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1039182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1039182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomlive.in\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1039182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}