Smartphone prices in India rose 16% on average in the first half of 2026, but OnePlus kept its own increase to 8%, according to Counterpoint Research. The hikes came as memory costs climbed, pushing India's average smartphone selling price to a record $318 in Q2 2026. AI data centres have been soaking up DRAM and NAND supply, and a weaker rupee has made imported components more expensive, leaving most brands with little choice but to raise prices through the first half of the year.
The increases didnโt land evenly. Phones priced below INR 10,000 saw the sharpest hikes, around 32% on average, because memory now makes up a much bigger share of what these devices cost to build. Shipments in the sub-INR 10,000 segment fell 65% YoY in H1 2026, and the INR 10,000-INR 15,000 band, historically one of the biggest in the market, dropped 20%. Phones above INR 20,000 kept growing, helped by higher launch prices, trade-in offers and no-cost EMIs that made pricier devices easier to afford.
Most brands passed a large share of those costs on to buyers. OnePlus took a different route. Its biggest single price increase was 12%, compared with 113% for the rest of the industry, so the gap held not just on average but at the extremes as well. The lower hikes also did not hurt growth. According to Counterpoint Research, OnePlus was the fastest-growing brand among the top five brands on online channels in the >INR 20,000 price bands in Q2 2026. Counterpoint expects this trend to continue in Q3 2026. OnePlus shipments are forecast to grow 5% YoY in the quarter, while the overall market is expected to shrink by double digits.
India Smartphone Average Price Hike (%)
Research Director Tarun Pathak noted, โThe interesting part is not only that OnePlus raised prices less than the market, but that it kept growing in this period. In a cost shock scenario like this, brands usually have to pick between two choices โ hold prices and give up margin, or protect margin and give up volume. OnePlus's H1 numbers suggest it managed to avoid this, mostly because it secured components early and has a portfolio broad enough to spread the pressure instead of loading it onto one price band.โ
OnePlus stocked up on components earlier in the year, locking in memory at older, lower prices before costs rose sharply. It also has nine active smartphone models priced between roughly INR 16,999 and INR 93,999, with few gaps between them, allowing it to spread higher costs across the lineup rather than concentrating them in its most price-sensitive models.
The results show up in its market performance. According to Counterpoint Research data, OnePlus was the No. 1 brand on online channels in the INR 30,000-INR 45,000 band. In Q2 2026, it was also the fastest-growing brand among the top five on online channels in the >INR 20,000 price bands. OnePlus shipments rose 49% QoQ in Q2 2026, when cost pressure was at its worst, and the brand gained share YoY even as overall market shipments fell. According to OnePlus data, the Nord 6 and the Nord CE6 series were the highest-selling models on Amazon on their launch day sales, in their respective price bands. Also, OnePlus was the top-selling brand on Amazon Prime Day in the INR 15,000-65,000 segment.
Going forward, memory prices are unlikely to come down before 2028, and the rupee continues to add to import costs, so the pressure on pricing isn't going away. Brands that planned for it early, as OnePlus did, are in a better position to keep growing while the rest of the market contracts.
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