New Delhi, 26 September 2026: Cheap and budget smartphones are gradually disappearing from the smartphone market. According to a new report, by the year 2030, retail markets around the world will lose Rs. More than 23 crore smartphones priced below Rs 20,000 will be out. According to the report of Counterpoint Research, by the end of this decade there will be a huge decline of about 40 percent in the budget segment. On one hand, there is a recovery in global smartphone shipments, while on the other hand, the customer segment of budget smartphones is continuously decreasing.
The main reasons behind the disappearance of budget phones from the market are the rising prices of chipsets and memory processors, hardware requirements and withdrawal of smartphone manufacturing companies from the segment with low profit margins. The cost of components in a cheap smartphone is already a major part of the total price, due to which the manufacturing companies have no scope to bear the inflation on their own due to rising prices.
According to the report, changing habits of customers are also responsible for the decline in sales of budget phones. People now use their old smartphones for a long time and are not in a hurry to buy a new phone. Many buyers are now choosing certified refurbished (second hand) phones over new budget smartphones. Apart from this, due to easy EMI and installment plans, customers are now inclined to spend a little more money to buy mid-range and premium smartphones.
According to Yang Wang, Principal Analyst at Counterpoint Research, the lack of budget smartphones in developing and low-income countries can become a major obstacle to internet connectivity. Rs. The decline in new smartphones priced below Rs 20,000 may slow down users switching from feature phones to smartphones for the first time. This may also deal a major blow to the efforts of governments and telecom operators to promote digital public infrastructure and online services.