Budget smartphone shipments fall sharply as 'RAMpocalypse' hits India
What's the story
India's smartphone market, the second largest in the world, is witnessing a major shift. The change comes mostly due to a global shortage of memory and storage chips, often referred to as 'RAMpocalypse.' The crisis is triggered by heavy demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. The situation has affected budget smartphones the most, leading to fewer shipments and higher prices.
Market impact
Vivo, Realme, Xiaomi, and OPPO saw declines
The chip shortage has hit Chinese smartphone brands hard, especially in India's budget segment.
According to International Data Corporation (IDC), Vivo, Xiaomi, and Realme saw double-digit declines in shipments in Q2 2026, while OPPO saw an 8.5% drop.
Vivo's shipments fell by 13% year-on-year (YoY) while its market share dropped from 19% to 18.4%.
Realme also witnessed a decline of 14.2%. Xiaomi's shipments fell by 10%, while OPPO saw an 8.5% drop in its shipment numbers during the same period.
Broader impact
Poco, OnePlus, and iQOO also recorded shipment declines
The chip shortage has not just affected Vivo, Realme, Xiaomi, and OPPO but also other Chinese brands.
POCO, OnePlus, and iQOO recorded YoY shipment declines of 12.3%, 2.5%, and 61%, respectively.
IDC data showed that smartphone shipments in India fell by 11.1% YoY to 33.2 million units in Q2 2026; shipments in the first half of 2026 were 64.2 million units, the lowest first-half volume in five years, for the same reason.
Market shift
Samsung and Apple gain market share
Despite the ongoing chip crisis, Samsung has managed to strengthen its market share to 16.4% in Q2 2026. This is a nearly 200 basis points increase from before.
Apple also saw an increase of 100 basis points during the same period, taking its market share up to 8%.
The IDC noted that Chinese brands lost ground due to cost-cutting measures and portfolio shifts toward higher-margin models.
Future outlook
Financing options key to maintaining affordability
The IDC emphasized that the future of the market would depend more on brands' ability to leverage financing, exchange offers, and affordability-led schemes.
These strategies could help maintain demand during the festive season.
Aditya Rampal, a senior research analyst at IDC Asia Pacific Devices Research, said, "financing options will be key to keeping affordability within reach" as well as product differentiation in the mid-premium segment smartphones.