Newshot Counterpoint India survey: Amid rising phone prices, processor, camera and battery life are the core parameters consumers are least willing to compromise on
IT Home, November 12: A recent Counterpoint Research survey of smartphone users in the Indian market shows that the weight of chipsets in consumers' purchasing decisions continues to rise: 86% of respondents said the chipset is a core consideration when buying a smartphone, up further from 78% in the third quarter of 2025, and users planning to buy high-end models pay even more attention to the chipset.
The survey covered 2,016 smartphone users in India aged 18-64 with some knowledge of digital products, and examined chipset preferences, brand awareness, satisfaction, purchasing priorities and price sensitivity.
Processor + camera combination becomes the most recognized product direction
35% of respondents ranked processor performance as the primary consideration for their next phone, followed by image quality (29%) and battery life (13%). The annual importance of both processors and cameras increased, while attention to battery life remained stable.
As smartphone prices continue to rise, 60% of consumers explicitly said they would not compromise on the three core features of processor, camera and battery life. By gender, male users ranked processor performance first (34%), followed by image quality (32%); female users prioritized image quality (32%), followed by processor performance (26%).
The survey also explains the core reasons consumers value chipsets: about 70% of users recognize that chipsets deliver better performance (69%), smoother multitasking (68%) and gaming performance (66%); more than half believe the chipset directly affects image quality (54%), battery efficiency (52%) and AI feature experience (52%).
Counterpoint analyst Abhijeet Paleja commented that processors have always been the primary decision factor for consumers buying phones, and as users' demands for multitasking smoothness, gaming experience and AI scenarios increase, this position is still being reinforced; at the same time, the importance of cameras is steadily rising, and the gap with processors continues to narrow. Against the backdrop of rising phone prices and manufacturers lowering hardware specifications to control costs, consumers will judge product value more rationally, and the combination of a "strong processor + high-quality camera" precisely covers the two experience points users care about most, making it a product solution that will not let users perceive any degradation in experience.
MediaTek brand preference and user satisfaction continue to rise
The survey shows that the share of consumers who prefer MediaTek chips rose from 17% in the third quarter of 2025 to 24% in the third quarter of 2026. Among respondents familiar with digital products, MediaTek's recommendation score rose by more than 20 points, with a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +47: among users of phones powered by MediaTek chips, 59% were satisfied with overall performance, 55% with gaming experience and 51% with battery efficiency.
Counterpoint senior analyst Arushi Chawla noted that in the third quarter of 2026, MediaTek led the Indian smartphone chip market with a 45% market share, while Qualcomm's share in the same period was 22%. However, in terms of brand preference and user aspiration, Qualcomm still maintains its lead on the strength of its flagship-tier performance positioning, with MediaTek close behind; nevertheless, thanks to higher Net Promoter Scores and user satisfaction, MediaTek's brand preference is also steadily improving, its performance in both the mainstream price segment and the flagship segment is getting stronger, and its market competitiveness continues to increase.
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