5G phones are getting expensive: Check top 4G phones you can buy amid rising memory prices

If you are planning to buy a smartphone under ₹10,000, you may have fewer choices than you expected. The cheapest smartphones are disappearing from the market, while prices of newer budget devices are moving up.

But there is one category that is quietly making a comeback - 4G smartphones.

5 4G phones worth considering

• Redmi A5: A budget option with a 6.88-inch 120Hz display, 5,200mAh battery, and up to 4GB RAM.
• Moto G05: You get a 6.67-inch 90Hz display, stereo speakers, 4GB RAM, and a 5,200mAh battery.
• POCO C71: It offers a 120Hz display, up to 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, and a 5,200mAh battery.
• Lava Bold N2: An Indian-brand option with a 6.75-inch 90Hz display, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage and a 5,000mAh battery.
• Lava Smart 4: It comes with a 6.56-inch display, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, and a 5,000mAh battery.

Memory chips are changing the budget phone market

The pressure is coming from higher memory costs. RAM and storage are essential components in smartphones, and rising memory prices are increasing the cost of making devices.

That is particularly difficult for phones priced below ₹10,000, where manufacturers have very little room to absorb higher component costs. Instead, brands are reducing discounts, changing specifications or moving consumers towards higher-priced models.

IDC data shows why 4G is back

IDC's latest India smartphone data shows just how sharply the entry-level market has been hit.

In Q2 2026, shipments of smartphones priced below $100, or roughly ₹9,000, plunged 74.3% year-on-year. Their share of India's smartphone market fell to just 4.5%, from 15.6% a year earlier.

Overall smartphone shipments also declined 11.1% to 33.2 million units. At the same time, the average selling price jumped 14.4% to a record $315, or around ₹28,400.

The squeeze has also changed the 4G-5G equation. As entry-level 5G phones became more expensive, brands brought back or extended 4G models to keep prices low. As a result, 4G smartphones accounted for 11.1% of shipments in Q2.

For you, however, this may be a temporary window. IDC expects India's smartphone shipments to fall more than 15% in the second half of 2026, meaning affordable 4G options could become harder to find once existing inventory runs out.