Smartphone sector hits road to revival with budget models

Every time you buy a smartphone, the tech specs you get at a certain price level multiply from the previous buy. This percolation of high tech to lower-priced gadgets sparked a rush for budget smartphones priced below ₹20,000 in the past year, a trend that industry insiders expect to continue in 2025.

- Shouvik Das

The revival comes in the backdrop of a slowdown in sales of smartphones in recent years. Overall smartphone sales in India grew just 4% in 2024 year-on-year (y-o-y) after being stagnant the previous year, according to market researcher International Data Corp (IDC) India.

However, sales of phones priced at ₹20,000 and below sold 35% more in 2024 compared to 2023. Further, sales doubled y-o-y in 2024 for 5G-enabled smartphones priced under ₹20,000.

To be sure, 5G-enabled phones accounted for four out of every five smartphones sold in India last year, while almost one in every two 5G phones sold last year was from the budget segment.

Smartphone brands and sellers expect this trend would continue in 2025, reviving interest in one of the largest electronics categories in the country. Phones priced below ₹20,000 comprise the biggest revenue driver in an industry that generated nearly $40 billion in revenue last year—that's nearly 30% of the domestic electronics industry's annual revenue right now.