Shipments Hit Decade Low

Why Phones Got Pricier

Is This A Bigger Worry

 India Near Saturation

Inside The Memory Crunch

Consumers Trade Down

 Feature Cuts And Margins

AI Data Centers Squeeze

Zooming Out To Consumption

Inflation And Household Budgets

Jobs But Weak Spending

What The Slowdown Means

Wrap Up And Sign Off

India’s smartphone market is heading into Diwali on a sour note. Shipments fell sharply in the July–September quarter, with the sub-₹20,000 segment hit hardest. A global memory-chip crunch is raising costs, pushing up prices and forcing buyers to delay upgrades, settle for fewer features or choose refurbished phones. But does this slump signal a wider squeeze on household spending, or is it a supply shock tied to the race to build AI data centres? We examine what falling shipments reveal about affordability, consumption and India’s mobile growth, with Counterpoint Research’s Tarun Pathak and Bank of Baroda chief economist Madan Sabnavis.

<p>India&rsquo;s smartphone market is heading into Diwali on a sour note. Shipments fell sharply in the July&ndash;September quarter, with the sub-₹20,000 segment hit hardest. A global memory-chip crunch is raising costs, pushing up prices and forcing buyers to delay upgrades, settle for fewer features or choose refurbished phones. But does this slump signal a wider squeeze on household spending, or is it a supply shock tied to the race to build AI data centres? We examine what falling shipments reveal about affordability, consumption and India&rsquo;s mobile growth, with Counterpoint Research&rsquo;s Tarun Pathak and Bank of Baroda chief economist Madan Sabnavis.</p>

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The Morning Brief

Does Slumping Smartphone Demand Spell a Gloomy Diwali?