India tightens grip on global smartphone market by value, shows data

Steady gains make country third-largest market; China and UK see declines

India is slowly expanding its share as the third-largest market for smartphones globally in terms of value, even as countries like China, at the top, and the UK, at fifth, have seen declines, according to global data from Counterpoint Research.

In the first half (H1) of calendar year (CY) 2025, the Indian market accounted for 7.9 per cent of the global smartphone value share, with roughly $215 billion sold to end customers in the country. By comparison, its value share in the same period last year was 7.7 per cent.

 

This growth has been driven by a substantial increase in the average selling price of phones retailed in India (as consumers upgrade to more premium devices), which rose by 8 per cent over the same period last year, despite only a marginal increase in volumes.

 

The position is important, as India is already the third-largest exporter of smartphones, reaching $25 billion in 2024-25 — behind China ($125 billion) and Vietnam (estimated at around $30 billion in CY 2024). The Indian industry is projecting that it may overtake Vietnam this financial year (2025-26).

 

In contrast, China, the No. 1 player in smartphone value share, saw its share shrink from 29 per cent in H1 CY 2024 to 28.3 per cent in H1 CY 2025, with sales showing signs of slowing. However, the No. 2 player, the US, increased its share over the same period from 16.6 per cent to 16.9 per cent.

 

In H1 CY 2025, India was far ahead of Japan, despite Japan’s value share in smartphones rising from 4.2 per cent in H1 CY 2024 to 4.9 per cent in H1 CY 2025. Meanwhile, the UK, ranked fifth, saw its share fall marginally by 1 percentage point to 4.4 per cent in H1 CY 2025. The rest of the world (all countries outside the top five) also saw their share decline during the same period.

 

For the full year of CY 2024, the Indian domestic market was pegged at $40 billion, while China and the US stood at $140 billion and $110 billion, respectively, making them the top three players.

Global shipments in CY 2024 reached 1.24 billion units, according to IDC, with India’s share at 151 million units — accounting for over 12 per cent of the global shipment volume.