Samsung's smartphone sales slow down in India

Samsung may have achieved its highest profit in the past three years, but its smartphone sales are declining in India. In the third quarter (Q3) of this year, the South Korean firm’s market share dropped further, allowing its Chinese rival to gain an unassailable lead. Moreover, Apple experienced explosive growth in the country, further threatening Samsung's business.

According to market research firm Omdia, Samsung shipped 6.8 million smartphones in India during Q3 2025. This represents a 9% drop compared to Q3 2024, when Samsung shipped 7.5 million Galaxy phones. Furthermore, Samsung’s market share fell from 16% last year to 14% this year, raising serious concerns about the company’s performance.

Omdia claims that while Samsung’s sales in the mid-premium segment improved with the help of phones like the Snapdragon variant of the Galaxy S24 and the Galaxy S25 FE, its entry-level phones suffered a sales drop. This is likely because Samsung’s entry-level phones don’t offer specifications that can match those of their rivals.

Vivo secured the top spot with a remarkable 20% market share. Remarkably, the Chinese firm shipped 9.7 million smartphones, marking an impressive 19% growth compared to the previous year. It’s worth noting that these figures exclude Vivo’s sub-brand iQOO, which has also demonstrated strong performance over the past couple of years.

Xiaomi ranked third with shipments of 6.5 million phones, as its sales slid 19% compared to last year. OPPO also shipped as many phones but got narrowly beaten by Xiaomi to rank fourth in the country.

Apple, which ranked fifth, shipped 4.9 million iPhones and secured a 10% share of the Indian smartphone market. This impressive sales figure was driven by a 47% increase in sales, largely due to the launch of the iPhone 17 series, which features improved hardware specifications.