The brand’s shipment growth comes as India’s homegrown smartphone players collectively expand their market share from 2% to 7% in a year.
Ai+ Smartphone has emerged as India’s fastest-growing smartphone brand for Q3 2026, recording a 306% year-on-year increase in shipments, according to Counterpoint Research’s Monthly India Smartphone Tracker. The growth stands out against a difficult quarter for the wider industry, which saw shipments fall 20% year on year between July and September to their lowest third-quarter level in a decade.
Counterpoint attributed Ai+ Smartphone’s performance to an expanded product portfolio, marketing initiatives and stronger consumer visibility. The brand’s growth also reflects a broader shift in India’s smartphone market, where homegrown players are beginning to gain a larger foothold.
Collectively, Indian smartphone brands increased their market share from 2% in Q3 2025 to 7% in Q3 2026, signalling growing opportunities for domestic manufacturers to compete with established international players.
However, the market continues to face significant headwinds. Rising component costs, particularly record-high memory prices, have pushed up device prices. The impact has been especially visible in the sub-₹20,000 segment, where shipments declined 47% year on year as devices shifted into higher price bands. Counterpoint expects India’s smartphone market to contract by around 13% in 2026.
Madhav Sheth, CEO of NxtQuantum Shift Technologies, which owns Ai+ Smartphone, said the brand’s growth was encouraging, while acknowledging that sustaining the pace could be challenging given its relatively small starting base. He also highlighted the expanding presence of Indian smartphone brands as a positive sign for the domestic ecosystem.
As the market navigates pricing pressures and softer demand, Ai+ Smartphone’s performance offers a notable example of a homegrown brand gaining momentum in an increasingly competitive category.
