The panorama of India’s smartphone market, within the first half of the 12 months, is now clear. IDC’s newest Worldwide Quarterly Cell Telephone Tracker (learn the report), says 70 million smartphones have been shipped within the nation within the first six months of this 12 months — and meaning a 0.9% year-on-year development. It’s a story of stability, or plateauing, relying on how constructive you are feeling in the present day. Of this quantity, 37 million shipments got here within the Q2, which was a 7.3% improve in contrast with the identical quarter a 12 months prior. There are two causes for this subdued demand. First, shoppers aren’t upgrading current telephones or shopping for new telephones as incessantly as maybe a few years in the past. Secondly, common promoting costs are rising, which IDC values at US$275 in 2Q25 and a development of 10.8% year-on-year, and that’s forcing potential consumers to reassess a purchase order by way of worth.
Momentum is an enormous deal for telephone manufacturers, as it’s for the broader market trajectory. Vivo’s continued to achieve, with a large (19% share; a 23.5% improve from 2Q24) lead over Samsung (14.5% share; a 21% improve) and Oppo (13.4% share; a 25.4% improve). Apple has gained 19.7% within the year-to-year interval comparability, with 2Q25 share at 7.5%, up from 6.7% in 2Q24.
The worrying detrimental trajectory? There’s Xiaomi, which the IDC numbers peg at a 9.6% share in 2Q25, a 23.5% decline in contrast with the three.5% share on the identical level within the final 12 months. Xiaomi could properly have been harm by the growing common promoting value, for the reason that firm’s Redmi telephones (which deliver the amount and scale) have constantly stepped up over the previous couple of generations, into larger value factors. Are customers not liking that?
I’d be nervous about OnePlus too, which from an already pretty low base of 4.4% share final 12 months, has dipped 39.4% to 2.5% share in 2Q25. The typical promoting value improve doesn’t harm OnePlus, who’ve historically been sturdy within the extra premium value bands. What provides? Tough to evaluate, contemplating their newest flagships are on level, and have a tendency to undercut the costlier Samsung Galaxy and Xiaomi 15 collection choices, in variance. The Nord collection too, appears to be ticking the bins on specs, enchantment and expertise. Surprise what provides?
TECH SPOTLIGHT: ADIDAS’ LIVERPOOL JERSEY 25/26
This weekend, the brand new Premier League season will get underway. The rivalry can resume, any banter inevitably dialled up. As we get nearer to kick-off (Liverpool vs Bournemouth is the primary fixture), there’s one thing necessary we should chat about. Jerseys. In European soccer for the brand new season, there are two necessary equipment provider offers — Liverpool x adidas (for the third time of their historical past), and Manchester Metropolis with Puma. I’ll deal with the previous, for causes which are comprehensible with none want for clarification. And to that time, should be aware that Liverpool and adidas is starting a 10-year partnership — good timing for each events, with Liverpool as defending Premier League champions.
There’s an “genuine” jersey ( ₹8,599 in India), in house and away variations, which I’ll deal with first. The first materials is the 160g Jacquard with weft knitting — this implies the yarn runs horizontally throughout the material as an alternative of the extra frequent warp knitting that finds its method vertically. The Jacquard material has its benefits in soccer jerseys. First, this enables totally different knit densities whereas having a single steady panel, which helps within the creation of additional breathable areas of a jersey and extra help the place the construction wants it. And it exhibits, as you put on the jersey. Secondly, weight discount whereas not compromising strategic elasticity, although any grams shaved off shall be extra obvious to elite athletes than us mortals.
The fan jersey (priced ₹5,999) makes use of a tech known as AEROREADY, which has one core concept of preserving you dry and funky. The best way this works is, a Hydrophilic end (that is a further remedy to soak up water as an alternative of gathering beads) on fiber attracts moisture off your pores and skin and spreads it for faster evaporation. Nice for those who commonly play or run carrying this jersey.
Relative to final season’s genuine player-spec jersey from the Nike period, efficiency philosophy is understandably acquainted however adidas’ tooling may be very totally different. Nike’s Dri-FIT ADV tech used athlete-mapped, open-hole zones to push airflow by high-heat areas. As an alternative, adidas makes use of totally different and extra refined methods to get to the identical end result, with micro-venting and redone material structure. It additionally marks an evolution from Liverpool’s earlier adidas era (2011/12 season), when ClimaCool was the usual. Again then the main focus was a mix of moisture management and easy air flow channels.
Only for document, the Liverpool house equipment known as Strawberry Purple, and the white away equipment, Surprise White. Liverpool had final partnered with adidas for the equipment, in 2012. The basic Liver Chicken crest is again.
SPIRITUALITY AND DATA
There are only a few of us who stability data with philosophy good. Final week, when author Nitin Seth invited me for the launch of his third ebook, Human Edge within the AI Age, there was little probability I’d miss the prospect to have a dialog with him about all issues synthetic intelligence. Why? As a result of this ebook, as Seth instructed me, completes the trifecta as he had envisioned — digital age, information and now AI (Profitable within the Digital Age and Mastering the Knowledge Paradox, his earlier titles). Thoughts you, Human Edge within the AI Age is releasing quickly on extra Indian languages, beginning with Hindi, in a couple of months time.
The chapter I used to be most enthusiastic about? Mantra 3, Join with the self by spirituality. “There’s noise throughout us. At the moment, wanting inwards at oneself is essential, and that’s how I outline spirituality,” he says. Seth talks concerning the elusive peace (one thing you might have felt too, however maybe not realised in as many phrases). He believes there’s a have to stability artha (prosperity), kama (pleasure) with dharma (responsibility, proper method, pure regulation) and moksha (liberation), to make one thing significant of our lives. A line that stands out — “as AI automates extra capabilities and accelerates our exterior world, our inside world wants higher consideration”. And to that, Seth elaborates that discovering stability between spirituality and materialism is the reply to our present disaster whether or not it’s on the stage of a person, the organisation or on a bigger scale, the nation. It’s spirituality that may present a deeper perspective. The rationale for this? Seth says the differentiator within the coming years could properly not be the entry to info, however our skill to interpret it, mirror and act with knowledge.
Key takeaways? Pause for self reflection, align motion with values, follow mindfulness, prioritise knowledge over info and stability ambition with inside peace.
BROADBAND LANDSCAPE
Our common readers would have famous we periodically chat concerning the mobile, and broadband panorama of the nation. For this, sure studies aside from official regulatory numbers that arrive periodically, are typically helpful in illustrating a development. Community measurement and insights platform Opensignal’s newest Fastened Broadband Expertise report (it’s here, for those who’d wish to learn it) tells us that the nation’s fastened broadband penetration is presently at 15%, and that this hole in comparison with measurement of the financial system, is basically as a result of lack of last-mile infrastructure, significantly in rural areas, the place greater than 60% of the inhabitants lives. That’s the reason I’ll deal with the wi-fi broadband information, as a result of that could be the longer term for many who are as but not linked to a broadband line within the conventional sense. There are particular metrics, which give us a moderately fascinating image of a product cycle that’s nonetheless in very early days.
- That’s altering although. FWA, or fastened wi-fi entry that usually depends on 4G or 5G networks, subscriptions in India have grown by over a 3rd in 2025 to succeed in 7.4 million on the finish of Might (the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India figures point out that too). FWA is proving important in connecting rural areas of India, because it leverages widespread cellular towers and may be enabled with restricted incremental funding by cellular operators. FWA provides a quick and cost-effective approach to enhance fastened broadband availability, significantly in underserved markets, with out having to deploy the type of intensive bodily community that wired broadband networks want.
- Opensignal information means that FWA, with the 2 primary operators providing these merchandise being Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, are up to now in a position to ship constant streaming and video calls, in addition to largely lag-free utilization. Within the common obtain pace stakes, Airtel’s Xstream AirFiber leads with 40.7Mbps, whereas Jio’s AirFiber logs in with 28.6Mbps. Each readings, regardless of the distinction, are doing properly to match lower-end fiber broadband connections on a median. There’s balanced consistency with add speeds too, at 29.8Mbps (Airtel) and 16.3Mbps (Jio).
- “Apparently, Airtel’s wireline obtain speeds are lower than 2Mbps quicker than its FWA speeds, with this delta simply 2.5Mbps for Jio. FWA in India is delivering a aggressive expertise to wireline for many households, with vast availability and easy set up giving it a aggressive edge,” the report notes. Throughout telecom circles, it’s a state of affairs of both Airtel’s FWA both main in high quality consistency, or it’s a tie.
