Memory Chip Price Hikes Squeeze Chinese Phones as Apple and Samsung Grab Market Share in India
Nashnova编辑部
Rising global memory-chip prices are pushing India's entry-level smartphone costs up by as much as 40%, dragging Chinese brands' shipments down across the board while Samsung and Apple emerge as the only two major brands still growing — the era of sub-$150 phones is over.
What is happening in India's smartphone market?
IDC data shows India's smartphone shipments fell to 64.2 million units in H1 2026, down 7.9% year-on-year.
Yet market value rose 3.6% over the same period; the average selling price hit a record $315. This means → fewer phones sold, but each one costs more — the entry-level segment is being squeezed out.
Neil Shah, co-founder of Counterpoint Research, says the sub-$150 smartphone era is over. Once current inventory clears, equivalent new models will cost $200–250 — a jump of up to 40%.
Why are Chinese brands hit hardest?
A global shortage of memory chips — the core components that store data inside a phone — has driven up prices. Entry-level phones are most sensitive to component costs, and that is exactly the price band Chinese brands depend on.
Q2 shipments fell across the board: Vivo −13.9%, Realme −14.2%, Xiaomi −10%, Oppo −8.5%. Only OnePlus, which targets the premium segment, saw a modest −2.5% decline.
Chinese brands had been cutting costs by switching to chips from UNISOC and CXMT (长鑫存储). But CXMT recently raised capital to expand into AI and data-center memory, pulling supply away from consumer electronics. In plain terms = their old cost-saving playbook is breaking down.
How are Samsung and Apple bucking the trend?
In Q2, Samsung shipments grew 0.4% year-on-year; Apple grew 0.7% — the only two major brands in positive territory. Samsung's share rose by nearly 200 basis points, Apple's by 100 basis points.
Samsung's edge is its in-house memory-chip supply chain, insulating it from external chip-price swings. This means → while rivals face rising input costs, Samsung's cost structure stays relatively stable.
Apple leaned on the iPhone 17, which topped India's single-model shipment chart for two consecutive quarters, while installment-payment plans lowered the effective barrier to purchase.
Did Chinese brands' own price hikes help their rivals?
Shah notes that forced price increases have eroded Chinese brands' core "value-for-money" pitch. Consumers are now re-evaluating, and Samsung's and Apple's mid-to-premium products look comparatively more attractive.
Samsung competes head-to-head with Vivo in the $200–300 band — precisely the range Chinese brands are being pushed into after their price hikes. In plain terms = Chinese brands have repriced themselves onto Samsung's home turf, intensifying direct competition.
The key variable ahead: whether Chinese brands can rebuild consumer acceptance at the new price tier, or keep bleeding share until memory-chip prices retreat — and there is no clear timeline for when that relief will come.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.