The Indian smartphone market recorded a five-year high in the third quarter of 2025, growing 4.3 per cent year-over-year (YoY) to 4.8 crore units (48 million). According to a report released Tuesday by market research firm International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, this growth was primarily fueled by strong demand for premium smartphones.
Chinese smartphone maker Vivo maintained its lead in terms of volume, capturing an 18.3 per cent market share in the September quarter. Meanwhile, Apple clocked its highest-ever shipment of 50 lakh (5 million) iPhones in a single quarter.
Premium segment drives growth
The report shows a clear trend towards more expensive smartphones.
In the Premium Segment (Rs 53,000–Rs 71,000): It includes phones priced between Rs 53,000 and Rs 71,000, sales grew significantly by 43.3 per cent compared to last year. This segment's share of the market increased from 4 per cent to 6 per cent. Notably, Apple's iPhone models 16, 15, and 17 together made up more than 70 per cent of the sales in this category.
Meanwhile, the Super-Premium Segment, which includes phones that cost more than Rs 71,000, saw the biggest growth, jumping by 52.9 per cent year over year. Its market share rose from 6 per cent to 8 per cent. This indicates a strong interest in high-end phones among consumers.Apple regained leadership from Samsung, holding 66 per cent and 31 per cent share, respectively. Key models included the iPhone 16, Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold7, iPhone 16 Pro, and Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Average Selling Prices (ASPs) surged to a record USD 294 (about Rs 26,000) in the September 2025 quarter, marking a 13.7 per cent YoY growth, driven by this demand for higher-specification models.
Apple’s record performance
- Apple's iPhone supplies grew 25.6 per cent overall.
- The iPhone 16 remained the most-shipped smartphone in India during the quarter, contributing 5 per cent of total market shipments.
- The newly launched iPhone 17 series and iPhone Air saw a record-breaking debut, accounting for 16 per cent of Apple's Q3 shipments—the strongest launch-quarter performance for any iPhone since 2021.
Market share leaders
Vivo led the market with an 18.3 per cent share following a 21 per cent growth in smartphone supplies. The top vendors were:
- Vivo: 18.3 per cent
- Oppo: 13.9 per cent
- Samsung: 12.6 per cent
- Apple: 10.4 per cent
- Realme: 9.8 per cent
- Xiaomi: 9.2 per cent
Senior Research Analyst Aditya Rampal noted that e-tailers significantly boosted volumes through discount-led sales of previous-generation flagship models from Apple and Samsung.
Chipset and future outlook
- Shipments of smartphones built on Qualcomm chipsets grew 17.9 per cent YoY, capturing a 29.2 per cent market share.
- In contrast, MediaTek chipset-based smartphone share declined to 46 per cent YoY.
- Despite the strong growth season, Chinese company OnePlus saw its volume shipment plummet 30.5 per cent, while Motorola recorded the highest growth rate among competitors at 52.4 per cent.
The growth momentum was partially offset by weaker demand for entry-level Android smartphones and the rising ASPs.Upasana Joshi, a Senior Research Manager, pointed out that strong holiday sales and flexible payment options helped boost sales in the third quarter. However, she cautioned that most of the demand is focused on higher-end products, which is putting pressure on the more affordable options. This has led to a lot of unsold inventory as we approach the fourth quarter of 2025.
Due to increasing costs of parts and price hikes that happened after Diwali, IDC predicts a drop in the number of products shipped in the last quarter of 2025. They expect the total for the entire year to be less than 150 million units.
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