India’s domestic phone brands are facing a persistent dilemma: while the country has become one of the world’s largest smartphone markets, homegrown companies struggle to compete on innovation rather than mere manufacturing or assembly. Analysts note that despite rising shipments and booming local production, Indian brands lack deep research and development capabilities, patents or breakthrough technology that global rivals use to capture market share.

Brands once familiar to Indian buyers — such as Micromax, Karbonn and Intex — lost momentum when Chinese players like Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo entered aggressively with feature-rich, competitively priced phones, reshaping consumer expectations. Many domestic firms focused more on assembling imported components than on original design or software differentiation, leaving them at a disadvantage in a rapidly evolving tech landscape.

Lava stands out as a modest outlier, expanding its portfolio across price segments and tentatively exploring AI features tailored to local users, but industry experts say this is not yet enough for a broader comeback. The overall challenge for Indian phone makers is not just building devices — it’s innovating products that resonate with global and domestic customers alike. Without stronger R&D, distinctive software and compelling features, domestic brands may continue to lag even as the Indian market grows.