Smartphones are getting pricier, yet premium phones are thriving; Will upcoming festive sales bring relief?

The festive season is just around the corner in India, with Rakshabandhan, Diwali, and Dussehra set to drive consumer spending across categories. The season attracts many to upgrade their electronics, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and others, due to exciting festive sales across e-commerce platforms. However, amid ongoing price hikes, the festive discounts may not offer the same level of savings as they used to.

Smartphone price hike continues

In recent months, smartphones across brands like Google, Samsung, Oppo, Realme, and others now come with increased pricing compared to their launch prices. This has reportedly declined smartphone sales in India, and many few buyers are upgrading.

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According to an IDC report, India’s smartphone shipments declined by 11.1 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026. In contrast, the average price of a smartphone sold in India increased by 14.4%, showcasing that buyers are spending even more.

On the other hand, the premium smartphone segment is reportedly thriving despite price hikes. A Counterpoint Research predicts that global foldable smartphone shipments could grow by 21% in 2026. Therefore, foldables like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and Fold 8 could stay in demand. In addition, Google’s Pixel 11 Pro Fold and Apple’s anticipated iPhone Ultra could further fuel interest in the premium segment.

Will festive deals ease smartphone prices?

AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and others are investing heavily to build AI infrastructure, and these AI systems require massive amounts of memory to train and run AI models. Due to this reason, companies are experiencing shortages in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and DRAM, resulting in a massive increase in consumer electronics production, including smartphones and laptops.

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Several tech leaders, including Apple’s Tim Cook, Nothing’s Akis Evangledis, and Samsung, have acknowledged that the memory shortage is an industry-wide challenge, and it will have some direct impact on consumers. Now, with upcoming festive sales on Flipkart, Amazon, and other retail stores, many might be expecting prices to go down with discounts, bank offers, and exchange deals. However, sales might not benefit consumers as they used to.

Reports suggest that budget smartphones could be the most impacted this year. Due to the reason, many buyers are looking for 4G models for cost savings, or paying extra for premium phones. This year, Google increased Pixel 11 series prices by up to Rs 14,000, whereas Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, Fold 8 Ultra, and the Flip 8 also received a price hike between Rs 15,000 and Rs 25,000. In addition, Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are also set to get a massive price hike next month.

What to expect from this festive sale?

This year, consumers should not expect to get the cheapest smartphone or laptop as memory shortages continue to grow, and brands are changing how they price and discount devices. Therefore, we can expect changes to the usual smartphone pricing cycle, and older phones may not get huge discounts.

While festive deals will still exist with Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 price cuts, bank discounts, and others, but actual savings may not be as impressive as they appear.