Samsung Electronics has gained a lead in India’s evolving smartphone market by capitalising on a surge in financed purchases, especially in Tier 2 and smaller cities, amid a global rebound in premium device sales.
Samsung Electronics is benefiting from a sharp change in India’s smartphone market, where buyers are moving away from small, upfront purchases and towards pricier handsets bought on instalment plans. A Counterpoint Research report says Samsung led India’s offline market for smartphone sales through financing in the second quarter of 2026, keeping ahead of Vivo and Apple as premium devices become easier to buy month by month.
The research firm said financing is becoming central to smartphone sales in India, and it expects financed purchases to account for 42% of total handset sales in 2026. Samsung’s average instalment period of 11.4 months was longer than the market average of 10 months and ahead of Chinese rivals Xiaomi, Realme and Oppo, though still well short of Apple’s 17.2 months. Counterpoint said the trend reflects a shift in consumer thinking, with monthly payments carrying more weight than sticker price and encouraging buyers to trade up to higher-end models.
The pattern is especially strong outside India’s biggest metro areas. In the second quarter, Tier 2 cities had the highest share of financed purchases at 57.5%, while Tier 3 and smaller markets were also above 50%. Counterpoint linked that to the spread of non-banking financial companies, or NBFCs, which help extend credit in markets where traditional lending may be thinner. It said the upcoming festive shopping season is likely to see manufacturers lean more on long-term instalment offers and interest-free schemes than on simple discounts.
The India gains come as Samsung is also reclaiming ground globally. Counterpoint said the company regained the top spot in worldwide smartphone shipments in the second quarter of 2026, while Apple’s share also rose as premium demand held up better than the broader market. That wider backdrop matters for Samsung because the firm is investing heavily in both premium phones and financing-led sales, a combination that appears to be helping it build loyalty in markets such as India even as the global handset market faces pressure from memory shortages.
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