It is a curious paradox. Even as India’s smartphone market clocks new shipment milestones quarter after quarter, helped in no small measure by a rapidly expanding local manufacturing base, the absence of strong homegrown brands on the market share charts remains glaring. Lava remains the lone outlier, even as phone brands including Karbonn have realigned focus to more affordable feature phones, while Ai+ is still finding its feet, and niche. Beyond that, questions persist — why does the world’s second-largest smartphone market lack a domestic champion, where did Indian phone makers lose their way, and is there still a realistic second chance at a comeback?
Analyst data suggests India achieved a five-year high with smartphone shipments in the third quarter of 2025, and remains a close battle between Vivo, Samsung and Oppo at the top of the volume charts. Apple is closing in fast, on the leading pack. Counterpoint’s latest data pegs Vivo with a 20% share, followed by Samsung (13%), Oppo (also 13%) and Apple with 9%. In the snippets lies a crucial detail — Lava was the fastest growing brand in the sub ₹10,000 price band with a 135% year-on-year growth, and also the second fastest growing brand under ₹15,000.
Faisal Kawoosa, chief analyst at research firm Techarc, believes the rise and fall of Indian phone makers such as Micromax (and its Yu sub-brand), Karbonn, Intex and Spice can be traced back to a fundamental flaw. “None of the founders were tech innovators, and none of these were technology companies,” he says. Many of these brands simply disappeared over time.
Unlike global smartphone successes built on deep R&D capabilities, patents and proprietary intellectual property, Indian brands invested only superficially. “Some efforts were limited to themes and wallpapers, which they would call R&D. Somewhere it became clear they never intended to build technology companies — they were simply trading products.”
That is precisely why Lava stands apart. The company has not only strengthened its core portfolio but has also begun experimenting across price segments. In recent weeks, Lava introduced the Play Max, priced around ₹12,499, while also pushing upward with the Agni 4, starting at ₹22,999.
Sumit Singh, Head of Product at Lava International, says the Agni 4 reflects the company’s broader ambition. “It strengthens our vision of building world-class smartphones grounded in Indian innovation,” he says. Alongside flagship-grade hardware elements such as a metal frame, faster memory modules, an optimised battery and advanced cooling, Lava has also introduced Vayu AI — an “emotionally aware” assistant tailored for Indian users. Its unique features include AI Horoscope, an AI Maths teacher and an AI English teacher.
Abhilash Kumar, Senior Industry Analyst at TechInsights traces the broader decline of Indian brands to a pivotal moment in the market’s evolution. The arrival of the Xiaomi Mi 3 in India in 2014, marked a new trajectory for this market. “At the time, Indian smartphone brands were largely sourcing fully built devices from China and selling them under their own labels. Since they weren’t building phones themselves, their costs were higher from day one,” Kumar explains.
Chinese manufacturers, by contrast, entered India with scale, supply-chain control and manufacturing efficiencies. The Mi 3 — widely regarded as a flagship of its era — launched at ₹14,999, significantly undercutting premium offerings from Samsung and Apple while delivering superior specifications at that price point. That moment effectively reset consumer expectations. Indian brands such as Micromax held on for a few more years, but they never truly recovered.
But, did Indian phone makers lose the smartphone race by getting confused between short-term volumes and long-term relevance?
“The gap in price-to-spec ratio between phones made by India brands and those by Chinese brands, was the reason that Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and others were quickly able to capture the market share,” says Kumar. In quick time, Oppo, Vivo, and OnePlus found a foothold in the Indian market, and haven’t looked back since. Yet, not all have been success stories — LeTv, Gionee, Meizu and Coolpad either exited the country, or were acquired.
A realistic second chance?
Apart from Lava holding fort, is there a chance for an Indian phone brand to carve a space for itself in the closely contested shipments and market share charts? Kawoosa looks at the brighter side of the picture, before inevitable caveats. “The beauty of smartphones as a product is that it has always been providing a chance to new entrants. But then there has to be at least one strong anchor for a new entrant,” he says, while adding that claiming a strong supply chain wouldn’t cut it because that predominantly exists abroad even today.
“We don’t have any hardware or software IPs relevant to smartphones, so that option is also gone. A new entrant needs to come up with something strong, which to my mind is extremely difficult to find in an Indian context,” he adds.
Kumar is equally pragmatic. “It would not be easy for any new Indian brand to shine in this landscape,” he says, noting that around 15 key brands, along with a long tail of smaller players, are already competing aggressively.
Even Lava, analysts warn, cannot afford complacency. Kawoosa points out that the brand’s connection with younger buyers remains fragile. Without a stronger bond with youth preferences, momentum could fade in the coming years. Kumar agrees that Lava’s longevity and local assembly provide credibility, but adds that consistency and long-term strategic planning will be critical.
If there is another inflection point ahead, it may come with the transition to 6G — much as 4G reshaped the market after 2012. Indian phone makers largely missed that earlier shift. Whether they are better prepared this time around remains an open, and consequential, question.
