Ai+ Smartphone, the homegrown brand that has become one of India's fastest-growing phone makers, announced on Friday, 6 November 2026, that it will raise prices across its portfolio by up to ₹3,000. The new prices take effect on 11 November. The company said that fresh inventory is being bought at higher memory and component costs, so it advanced a price revision it had planned for later. The move comes as India's smartphone market is shrinking, which makes the question of whether buyers will accept higher prices more pressing for every brand.
The argument that the increase is justified rests on costs and demand. Ai+ says it sold over ten lakh devices in the third quarter of 2026 and that sales exceeded its projections, with inventory running out ahead of schedule. Counterpoint Research ranked it the fastest-growing brand in the quarter, with shipments up 306 percent year-on-year, and said Indian brands' share of the market rose from 2 percent in the third quarter of 2025 to 7 percent. Counterpoint also reported record-high memory prices and said that elevated component costs are likely to drive another round of price hikes after the festive season sale. The Hindu reports that Lava has also said it will raise prices by up to ₹3,000 after Diwali, so Ai+ is not alone.
The counter-argument is that consumers are already stretched. Counterpoint found that India's total smartphone shipments fell 20 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, the lowest level in a decade, and that shipments of phones below ₹20,000 dropped 47 percent as rising prices pushed devices into higher price bands. A hike of up to ₹3,000 is large for buyers in a market where demand is already weak, and The Hindu notes that shipments fell because of diminishing demand and a rising average price. Even with rapid gains, Indian brands hold only 7 percent of the market, far behind Samsung at 17 percent and vivo at 16 percent. Prices are expected to rise again by up to 10 percent after Diwali because of the memory crisis, smaller inventories and the rupee's fall against the dollar, according to The Hindu, which suggests that buyers who wait may not find relief. Counterpoint also reported that Google's shipments grew by over 50 percent and that sales of Apple's iPhone 18 Pro at launch were nearly 20 percent higher than those of the iPhone 17 Pro, so premium buyers are still spending. It also reported that Lava's shipments grew 91 percent and itel's 88 percent, so Ai+ faces competition from other value brands.
The implications reach beyond one brand. Counterpoint expects the 2026 market to shrink by about 13 percent, and Samsung returned to the top spot with a 17 percent share after nine quarters. For homegrown brands that have been winning share from foreign rivals, the test is whether they can keep volumes up while passing on higher costs.
Ai+ has chosen to protect its margins now rather than wait for a bigger increase after Diwali. Whether buyers accept it will show how much room Indian brands have to grow in a falling market.