5G services have been launched in the country. 5G smartphones are available even in budgets. These phones are available even in budgets of less than Rs 10,000. As a result, the demand for 4G phones has decreased. But in just three months, this picture has changed. There is a bumper demand for 4G smartphones in the 5G space. In the second quarter of 2026, the share of 4G in smartphone shipments has increased from 5.8 percent to 11.1 percent compared to the previous quarter. Due to which companies have changed their plans.
According to a Money Control report, the share of 4G in smartphone shipments has doubled in the last quarter. 4G phones have been sold vigorously. This includes Chinese brands like Vivo, Oppo, Itel, and Infinix, as well as Motorola and Samsung. According to Counterpoint Research, 4G shipments have increased by 40 percent. As a result, its share of smartphones sold in the second quarter has increased to 12 percent. While it was only 7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025. Tarun Chakkar, Research Director at Counterpoint, estimates that the 4G smartphone market will grow by 8 percent annually in 2026.
Why are 4G options increasing?
Due to the increase in RAM prices, expensive components and the depreciation of the rupee, it has become difficult to launch 5G devices under 15 thousand. The mass-market segment under 15 thousand has declined by 45 percent. Therefore, brands are launching more 4G options. However, smartphone manufacturers are launching 4G devices, but they do not have the same features as before. To keep costs down, brands are bringing out 4G portfolios using older generation components like LCD displays and LPDDR4x memory. 5G phones under 20,000 are now very rare. Even those that are available have reduced RAM to 4GB. As the world has now reached 6GB, companies are reducing RAM even further.
