Xiaomi is betting high on premium smartphones, a wider device portfolio and connected home products as India’s handset market shows clear signs of saturation, with consumers increasingly willing to spend more on devices they expect to use for longer.

The company, which has completed 12 years in India, said its Redmi Note series has crossed 85 million units shipped in the country. However, the broader smartphone industry has slightly de-grown in the first half of calendar 2026 as consumers prefer to hold on to existing devices for longer time.

With an estimated 600 million active smartphone users in India, the market was increasingly shifting from volume to value, confirmed Sandeep Sarma, Director, PR and Marketing at Xiaomi India, in a conversation with The Hindu.

“The shift is reflected in consumer spending. While the average smartphone market selling price is around ₹23,000 to ₹25,000, more consumers are moving into higher price bands. Our performance in the ₹35,000 to ₹50,000 mid-premium segment has grown 212% year-on-year,’’ he elaborated. The company has also returned to the ₹30,000 to ₹60,000 segment with the Redmi 17T and performance-focused Redmi Turbo series, both launched in June.

The solidifying trend is, consumers buying more expensive smartphones and retaining them for longer. Longer device life, combined with no-cost EMI schemes extending to 24 months—and in some cases 36 months for high-end phones—was making premium devices more accessible, he observed.

“Consumers are increasingly viewing smartphones through a monthly affordability lens rather than as a one-time purchase,’’ Mr. Sarma noted.

Battery technology was also evolving in response to longer replacement cycles, he added. ``Silicon-carbon technology was enabling smartphones to carry batteries of up to 8,000 mAh while remaining thinner and lighter, addressing the growing demand for longer battery life,’’ he explained.

At the same time, rising memory and storage costs still remain a pressure point for handset makers, with higher demand from data centres pushing up component prices.

Indian cellphone market outlook

For the second half of 2026, Xiaomi expects the Indian smartphone market to remain broadly flat or potentially decline, even through the festive season.

“Consumers are still expected to buy smartphones, but a greater share of discretionary spending could move towards televisions, tablets and other appliances,’’ he forecast.

Xiaomi will introduce Mijia, a smart home, lifestyle brand

On next phase of expansion, Mr. Sarma said, Xiaomi would introduce Mijia, Xiaomi’s smart home and lifestyle sub-brand, in India, to enter large appliances mart in India. Globally, Mijia portfolio includes air-conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines while the Chinese firm is yet to decide on product range and launch timeline for India.

“We are now focusing on this shift: from owning a smartphone as a necessity to spending on a more connected and aspirational lifestyle. Larger television screens, premium display technologies and tablets are already seeing consumers move up the price ladder, and Xiaomi expects connected home products to become the next leg of growth,’’ he added.

According to Mr. Sarma, Xiaomi’s Human x Car x Home is a smart ecosystem that links personal devices, smart home appliances, and the Xiaomi electric vehicle into one seamless software network, its operating system, Xiaomi HyperOS.

Home would be a key factor for next phase of growth for Xiaomi in India. In the first phase, the company had focused on the human part of its: human, car, home ecosystem. It sold tablets, TVs, and smartphones. In the second phase, the company will also have some smartphones and the human aspect of things, but will go more deeply into the home aspect, he added.

Explaining human, car, home ecosystem of Xiaomi Mr. Sarma said, ``You are at your office, you’re using a phone, your laptop, and your tablet, and then you go to your car, which is also a Xiaomi product. You have continuity there. You reach your home, your car talks to your home. Turn on the kettle, switch on the lights. That sort of a connected future is what we’re expecting to get in India.’’

Published - August 15, 2026 08:34 pm IST