New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS) The Indian premium smartphone market is set to see 18 per cent growth (year-on-year) in sales and 24 per cent rise in market value in the upcoming festive season, a report showed on Friday.

Within the premium segment, super-premium smartphones (Rs 50,000–1,00,000) are expected to grow 15 per cent on-year, while the uber-premium segment (Rs 1,00,000 and above) could see a remarkable 167 per cent surge, fuelled by strong demand for the latest flagship models, said the report by CyberMedia Research (CMR).

According to Prabhu Ram, VP–Industry Research Group (IRG), CMR, the premium smartphone market segment continues to benefit from strong tailwinds from aspirational buyers, Gen Z, and millennial consumers seek powerful devices that match their evolving digital lifestyles.

“With increasing accessibility and affordability initiatives, more consumers are now seeking to buy the latest premium devices. When it comes to Android smartphone market, smartphone brands that deliver on overall performance, design aesthetics and on-device AI stand to benefit,” he mentioned.

From a consumer experience standpoint, premium chipsets such as Snapdragon are perceived as key enablers of high-performance devices, delivering seamless multitasking, immersive gaming, pro-grade camera capabilities, and, increasingly, advanced AI and GenAI-driven experiences.

In July 2025, Samsung (28 per cent), Apple (23 per cent) and OPPO (11 per cent) led the premium segment.

Premium Android smartphones powered by Snapdragon chipsets captured 40 per cent market share, further cementing Snapdragon as the leader in the premium smartphone market.

Additionally, the report revealed that 85 per cent of those surveyed are seeking an upgrade in the upcoming festive season.

“Apple is well positioned for a strong festive season, buoyed by the launch of its iPhone 17 series and continued demand for older- generation iPhones, which serve as attractive entry points into the Apple ecosystem,” the report added.

Consumers are prioritising smartphones for performance (89 per cent), gaming (85 per cent), and future-proofing for generative AI features (45 per cent), among others.

Across price tiers, consumers increasingly view the chipset as the smartphone’s core — for over a quarter of them, performance outweighs camera, display, or battery in importance.

“While premium smartphone demand is entering a critical growth phase in the run-up to the festive season and beyond, we remain cautiously optimistic about modest overall market growth. Despite prevailing headwinds, intensifying competition will spur innovation and expand consumer choice, giving buyers more options than ever before,” added Menka Kumari, senior analyst – Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR.

—IANS

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