Pointing to a sharp pricing divide triggered by rising memory chip costs, prices of entry-level smartphones in India have risen by as much as 40% over the past year, while several premium flagship devices have become cheaper by up to 20%.
The gap driven by rising artificial intelligence (AI) led global NAND flash and DRAM memory costs point to a pertinent divide in the handset market, where the segment most exposed to component inflation is also the least capable of resisting it, according to a recent report by Techarc, a technology market research and consulting firm.
The report, which tracked 79 smartphone models across 21 brands launched between January and June 2025, found that smartphones priced below ₹10,000 recorded an average price increase of 17.6%, while devices in the ₹10,000-20,000 bracket rose 15.2%. In contrast, Premium Pro models priced between ₹50,000 and ₹1 lakh declined 7.9%, while luxury smartphones above ₹1 lakh fell 9.1% on average.
The report points that the entry and base-tier devices have become the primary battleground for Bill Of Materials (BOM) pressures as brands passed on higher memory costs to consumers, whereas premium smartphones continued to benefit from stronger margins, inventory flexibility and competitive pricing strategies aimed at high-value buyers.
“The memory shock was entirely absorbed by the mass market; premium tiers went the other way,” the report noted. Exposing a fundamental asymmetry in the ecosystem, Faisal Kawoosa, chief analyst at Techarc conveyed that the entry and base segments and brands without procurement scale will feel the most pain.
Asymmetric Pressures
Among individual models, the iQOO Z10 Lite 5G recorded a 40% increase over its launch price, followed by Samsung Galaxy M16 5G at 39.1%, Redmi A5 at 36.2% and Motorola G05 at 35.8%. Acer’s Super ZX 5G saw the steepest increase overall at 63.6%, though from a limited distribution base.
At the premium end, smartphones tracked above ₹50,000 registered price declines during the study period. OnePlus 13 fell 17.1%, Samsung Galaxy S25 dropped 16.9%, while Motorola Razr 60 Ultra declined 20% as brands intensified competition in the flagship segment.
Challenger brands witnessed the sharpest repricing pressure. Poco posted an average increase of 24.4% across tracked models, followed by Infinix at 25.3% and CMF by Nothing at 21.3%. Apple, Google and Motorola, meanwhile, largely maintained flat pricing on average.
The report noted that the mid-tier smartphone segment priced between ₹20,000 and ₹30,000 has effectively come up as a transition zone, remaining largely flat as some models recorded modest increases while others declined. Meanwhile, premium and luxury categories are increasingly competing on market share rather than margins, leading to sustained discounting and price corrections as brands target high-value consumers.
Pricing ‘V-Curve’
The pricing shock unfolded is mapped through what is describes as a ‘V-curve’ cycle. Smartphone prices remained close to launch levels in Q1 2025 before gradually falling due to aggressive e-commerce discounting, with devices selling well below their original prices by September 2025. However, the trend reversed sharply from the fourth quarter of 2025 as global NAND flash and DRAM memory costs surged. Prices then rose rapidly across the market, especially in budget smartphones.
Meanwhile, experts predict memory prices to soften modestly after the second half of 2027. However, a return to pre-cycle price levels remain unlikely since the market has already undergone a structural pricing reset, particularly in the ₹8,000-18,000 segment.
The signalling is that the mass-market smartphone paradigm may have permanently transitioned to a higher pricing benchmark. According to the report, the new pricing floors in entry and base tiers are expected to remain intact, resulting in the ₹10,000-15,000 category becoming significantly denser with feature-rich and aggressively competitive smartphones than it was 18 months ago.