Coming soon: ₹2 lakh foldable smartphones from Samsung and Apple

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New Delhi: Apple and Samsung may not see unbridled growth in a slowing smartphone market in India, but that may not stop them from launching what could be their most expensive devices to date—smartphones priced above ₹2 lakh.

Retailers, distributors, industry bodies and analysts told Mint that Apple and Samsung, which together account for over 40% of the domestic phone market’s revenue, are expected to launch phones priced above the lofty ₹2 lakh sticker in the next three months.

A number of factors play key roles in this: the cost of engineering a new device type, high raw material and logistical costs due to the Iran war disruption and exponentially high memory chip prices due to the artificial intelligence-led shortage.

South Korean electronics giant Samsung is expected to launch a new flagship smartphone that resembles a book next month, according to two industry executives directly aware of the matter. Reports claim that this is in response to giant Apple’s own upcoming foldable smartphone, which would be the first new device type from Apple since June 2023’s Vision Pro augmented reality headset.

Retailers and distributors said that early indications point to a price of over ₹2 lakh for both the new phones, which are expected to sit at the top of the portfolios of the two companies.

"If you look at the past pricing trajectory of the past two years or so, phone prices have steadily increased even in the flagship segment,” said Manish Khatri, partner at Mumbai-based electronics retailer, Mahesh Telecom. “Most reports suggest that Samsung’s next new foldable and Apple’s first foldable smartphone will both launch this year. If that holds true, then these devices will anyway come at a significantly higher cost of engineering—that, coupled with sky-high memory chip prices, will likely see phones breach the ₹2 lakh price points this year.”

To be sure, while top variants of current smartphones can go beyond ₹2 lakh in pricing, most retailers offer bank discounts and cashback offers to bring the effective pricing below this point. Further, even as the top phones have base storage models priced below ₹2 lakh, the new crop, as per market expectations, will be priced upward of ₹2 lakh.

Neither Apple, based in Cupertino, California, nor Samsung responded to Mint’s emailed queries until press time.

India’s smartphone industry’s sales volumes peaked in 2021, when it sold over 161 million units. Since then, sales have declined steadily and could be staring at a further 5-8% drop, according to Counterpoint Technology Market Research. Even Apple, which has returned consistently exponential growth in India over the past eight years, is likely to see a slowdown in growth in 2026 as premium phones get more expensive.

The key challenge, said Tarun Pathak, director of research at market tracker Counterpoint India, is that “despite foldable phones now having seen eight generations, prices have not yet rationalized.”

Pathak said the first foldable phone from Samsung launched at about $1,700 ( ₹1.6 lakh) and the same pricing persists today. This is because making a durable hinge for a foldable phone remains complicated and the cost of logistics, raw materials in the electronics supply chain and memory chips have all gone up.

“Taking these factors into account, it is very possible that the new foldable from Samsung, as well as Apple’s first foldable iPhone, will cost upward of $2,000, or ₹200,000 in India,” Pathak added.

This may not necessarily mean that buyers won’t come for them at all. Pathak and Khatri concurred that for Apple, there will be a novelty factor that long-time brand loyalists will lap up, irrespective of the price.

The concern, said Kailash Lakhyani, founding chairman of the All-India Mobile Retailers Association (Aimra) and president of the Organised Retailers Association, is that the new price points “will set the wrong precedent.”

More brands may follow into the ₹2 lakh phone category, putting pressure on retailers and consumers at a time when market sentiment is already weak, he said. Though retailers successfully sold high-end smartphones from Apple, Samsung and others at above ₹150,000, there’s been a further dramatic rise in prices.

Increased memory chip prices have already pushed the average price of an Android phone up by 35% in six months. Apple chief Tim Cook also indicated that iPhones would become costlier, said Lakhyani.

“Based on the model-wise details of flagship phones and sequential price hikes since November, retailers fully expect upcoming flagship launches from Samsung and Apple to easily cross the ₹200,000 threshold—even reaching up to ₹275,000 for top-tier variants,” Lakhyani said.

Lakhyani, like Khatri and Pathak, agreed that the price hike may not necessarily mean poor sales.

“Affluent consumers who own luxury cars and travel business class will continue to purchase devices above ₹200,000 to match their lifestyle. But the broader consumer segments urgently require extended-tenure affordability options,” he added.

For this, Lakhyani’s Aimra, on behalf of smartphone retailers and distributors, has written to Apple, Samsung, Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi urging them to introduce 36-month instalment payment plans for premium phones at zero interest.

“While the company would need to bear higher interest costs with NBFCs for longer tenures, I strongly believe the massive increase in sales volume will far outweigh the costs,” he said in the letters to each of the five companies that Mint reviewed.

For now, affordability plans aside, the tall price points seem inevitable. A key part of this, Counterpoint’s Pathak added, is the lack of competition.

“There’s also no aggressive competition in India in the foldable space, unlike China, where we’ve seen competition across brands push prices downward,” he said. “As long as the competition for foldables in India does not grow, such tall prices are inevitable since these phones are very expensive to make.”

The early sales figures of both the upcoming new Galaxy foldable and Apple’s first folding iPhone would likely be in the thousands, not millions, he said. Foldables themselves account for just about 0.4% of the market, with 600,000 in total expected to be sold this year.

Shouvik has been tracking the rise and shifts of India’s technology ecosystem for over a decade, across print, broadcast and web-first platforms. He's been a tinkerer of machines and PCs since childhood, a habit he was thrilled to convert into his profession. This has led him to fascinating experiences of technologies around the world, which is what keeps him hooked to his job.<br><br>Shouvik likes to believe that he is one of the few technology journalists in India who can also code. He has also been writing about the rise of AI well before it became a household name, and has met some of the most fascinating people over the years through his work.<br><br>Shouvik writes about AI, Big Tech, data centres, electronics, semiconductors, cybersecurity, gaming, cryptocurrencies, and consumer technologies. He is most fond of the stories he has written during his time here at Mint, for which he also writes 'Transformer', a weekly technology newsletter, and hosts 'Techcetra', a weekly technology podcast.<br><br>Outside of work, Shouvik spends most of his time with Pixel, whom he believes is the world's best dog. He is also an avid reader, a toy collector, a gamer and a frequent traveller.

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