India’s smartphone market is experiencing a remarkable transformation as shipments surge 5 percent year-on-year in Q3 2025, marking a pivotal moment that redefines the competitive landscape. Apple achieved the highest value growth of 28% during the Q3 2025 in India with consistent demand for iPhone 15 and 16 series, while the newly launched iPhone 17 series is witnessing strong momentum with demand outpacing that of its predecessor, noted Counterpoint Research. This exceptional performance has propelled Apple into India’s top five smartphone brands by volume for the first time ever, making India the third-largest iPhone market globally—a milestone that underscores the country’s rapidly evolving premium smartphone preferences and the brand’s expanding influence in the world’s second-most populous nation.​

The overall market is hitting unprecedented heights with India’s smartphone market value reaching its highest-ever quarterly level, driven by robust premiumization trends, festive season momentum, and aggressive financing options that have made premium devices accessible to broader consumer segments. The premium segment alone grew by an astounding 29 percent year-on-year, lifting the entire market’s value by 18 percent, while average selling prices surged by 13 percent, indicating a fundamental shift in consumer buying behavior toward higher-value, feature-rich devices.​

What Are the Top 5 Smartphone Brands in India?

The top five smartphone brands in India during Q3 2025, according to Counterpoint Research, are ranked as follows:​

1. Vivo (20% market share) – Maintaining its leadership position, Vivo expanded its volume share from 17% in Q3 2024 to 20% in Q3 2025, commanding the largest share of India’s smartphone market. The brand’s success is attributed to its diverse portfolio spanning budget to premium segments, aggressive marketing during festive seasons, and strong distribution networks across metros and smaller cities.​

2. Samsung (13% market share) – The South Korean electronics giant holds the second position but witnessed market share erosion from 16% in Q3 2024 to 13% in Q3 2025. Despite the decline, Samsung remains competitive through its premium Galaxy S series, AI-powered Galaxy A series mid-tier devices, and record sales of its foldable Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip series.​

3. Oppo (13% market share) – Maintaining its third-ranked position with a consistent 13% market share, Oppo has held steady performance through its focus on camera innovation, mid-range segment strength, and brand partnerships.​

4. Xiaomi (8% market share) – Experiencing significant challenges, Xiaomi’s market share plummeted from 11% in Q3 2024 to just 8% in Q3 2025, marking a substantial three-percentage-point decline. The brand faces intensifying competition in the mid-range segment but continues to leverage its value-for-money positioning in emerging markets.​

5. Apple (9% market share) – Breaking into the top five for the first time, Apple achieved a 9% volume share in Q3 2025, up from 7% a year ago, while commanding an extraordinary 28% value share—the highest among all brands. This historic entry reflects Apple’s successful penetration into smaller cities, expanding retail presence, and strong appeal of its iPhone 15, 16, and newly launched iPhone 17 series.​

What Is the Top 5 Phone Brands?

The top five smartphone brands globally during Q3 2025 reflect a different hierarchy than India’s market, with Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi leading worldwide shipments. According to global smartphone data, the international ranking shows Samsung leading in shipments with a 19% market share, though Apple dominates in revenue generation and value.​

Globally, the top brands are:

1. Samsung – Commanding 19% of global shipments, Samsung leads in volume with strong performance across budget, mid-range, and premium segments.​

2. Apple – While ranking second in shipments globally, Apple leads in revenue value and maintains the highest average selling prices.​

3. Xiaomi – Holding a 14% global shipment share, Xiaomi maintains strong growth momentum, particularly in emerging markets across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.​

However, India’s market dynamics differ significantly from global trends, with Vivo’s strong regional presence and Apple’s emerging premium dominance reshaping India’s competitive landscape. The divergence highlights how regional preferences, financing accessibility, distribution networks, and purchasing power directly influence brand rankings across different markets.​

Which Is India’s No. 1 Smartphone Brand in 2025?

Vivo is India’s number one smartphone brand in 2025, maintaining leadership by volume share with 20% of all smartphone shipments in Q3 2025. However, this requires important context—while Vivo leads by volume, Apple dominates by value with a 28-30% share of the premium smartphone market.​

This distinction reflects a crucial market segmentation: consumers prioritize different attributes depending on price points. In the mass-market and mid-range segments (₹5,000-₹25,000), Vivo’s diversified portfolio, aggressive pricing, and extensive retail reach make it the volume leader. The brand’s success is built on understanding local consumer preferences, offering competitive features at each price point, and leveraging strong distribution in India’s non-metro areas.​

Conversely, in the premium segment (₹50,000 and above), Apple has established overwhelming dominance with consumers willing to pay premium prices for ecosystem benefits, superior build quality, and consistent software support. The iPhone 16 was the single highest-shipped individual smartphone model in India for the second consecutive quarter, demonstrating the depth of Apple’s appeal to affluent and aspirational buyers.​

The emergence of Apple as a top-five brand marks a structural shift in India’s smartphone market. For years, Apple remained positioned outside the top five, primarily competing in the premium niche. However, several factors have catalyzed its rapid rise: the launch of locally manufactured iPhone 17 series models, aggressive financing options and EMI schemes making iPhones accessible to a broader audience, expansion of Apple Preferred Partner retail stores in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, growing aspirational desire for premium brand status, and significant price reductions through festive season offers.​

Market Dynamics and Growth Drivers

India’s smartphone market is experiencing profound transformation driven by multiple intersecting factors. The premium segment’s 29% year-on-year growth substantially outpaced overall market growth, indicating a clear trend toward higher-value devices. This premiumization is facilitated by improving household liquidity, retail inflation easing, supportive fiscal measures, and widespread availability of zero-interest EMI schemes that reduce payment barriers.​

Festive season demand catalyzed inventory buildup, with vendors stocking channels in advance and offering aggressive discounts to attract consumers. Online channels captured 45% of shipments during Q3—a 10 percentage point surge from typical periods—driven by online-exclusive deals and simplified purchasing experiences. However, offline channels still command 55% of shipments, indicating that physical retail remains critical for purchase decisions despite e-commerce’s growing influence.​

5G adoption has accelerated dramatically, with 5G smartphones accounting for 89% of total shipments in Q3 2025, up from lower penetration rates previously. Remarkably, 5G devices in the affordable ₹6,000-10,000 price band surged over 1,600% year-on-year, democratizing 5G access and fundamentally reshaping consumer upgrade patterns. This democratization of premium connectivity features across price points is expected to drive the next wave of smartphone growth in India.​

Regional Expansion and Market Penetration

Apple’s entry into the top five represents a geographic expansion beyond metros into smaller cities, a challenging market where consumer preferences, purchasing power, and brand awareness differ significantly from urban centers. The iPhone 16’s status as India’s highest-shipped individual device in consecutive quarters—despite higher prices than most competitors—demonstrates successful market penetration across regions.​

The brand’s enhanced retail footprint, including flagship stores in metro cities and expanded Preferred Partner networks in non-metro areas, has substantially improved accessibility and purchase confidence. These retail investments lower barriers to trial and purchase, particularly important for premium products where physical experience influences decisions.​

Competitive Challenges and Restructuring

While Vivo maintains volume leadership, other established players face challenges. Samsung’s share erosion from 16% to 13% suggests competitive pressure in mid-range segments where Vivo and Xiaomi offer compelling alternatives. Xiaomi’s three-percentage-point share decline from 11% to 8% is more severe, reflecting intensified competition and possible market share cannibalization to newer brands like Motorola, iQOO, and OnePlus.​

Emerging brands are capturing momentum in specific segments. iQOO achieved 54% year-on-year shipment growth, while Motorola posted 53% growth, indicating successful product launches and market repositioning. Lava, an Indian domestic brand, emerged as the fastest-growing brand in the sub-₹10,000 segment with 135% year-on-year shipment growth, indicating strong resurgence in the budget-to-mid-range spectrum.​

Chipset Market Dynamics

The smartphone chipset market mirrors overall device market trends. MediaTek leads with a 46% shipment share, providing processors for budget and mid-range devices where volume dominates. Qualcomm maintains a 29% share, concentrated in premium and performance-focused devices where Apple’s proprietary A-series chips and Qualcomm’s premium Snapdragon processors compete.​

Average Selling Price (ASP) Evolution

The 13% year-on-year increase in average selling prices indicates a fundamental market restructuring toward higher-value devices. This ASP growth is driven by premium brand expansion, increasing Pro model adoption, and rising consumer willingness to pay for advanced features like superior cameras, displays, and processing power. Apple’s growing share of Pro models significantly contributes to its higher average selling price within the premium segment.​

Market Value Achievement

India’s smartphone market reached an unprecedented quarterly value milestone, crossing historical records with an 18% year-on-year value increase. This value surge substantially exceeds volume growth, confirming that the market is transitioning from pure volume-driven competition to value-driven growth, where margins, profitability, and premium positioning determine success.​

Financing and Trade-In Impact

Easy financing options, zero-interest EMI schemes, and generous trade-in offers have fundamentally altered purchase dynamics. These financial mechanisms reduce entry barriers to premium devices, enabling middle-class consumers to upgrade without immediate full payment. Trade-in programs are particularly effective, allowing users to offset upgrade costs by recycling existing devices, thereby reducing the net outlay required for premium models.​

Future Outlook

The market trajectory suggests continued premiumization, with Apple’s penetration into top five indicating irreversible structural shifts. While Vivo maintains volume leadership through its diverse portfolio and market-wide reach, Apple’s value dominance signals that premium segment growth will increasingly drive overall market profitability.​

The upcoming quarters will determine whether Apple sustains top-five positioning or further advances, particularly as iPhone 17 series demand stabilizes post-launch. Samsung faces strategic pressure to innovate and differentiate, particularly in mid-range and premium segments where Apple encroaches. Vivo’s challenge is maintaining volume leadership while managing margin pressures from emerging competitors in the budget segment.