India report: 9 in 10 phone buyers want AI

Flipkart and Counterpoint Research said on April 29 that artificial intelligence has become a mainstream purchase criterion for smartphone buyers in India, according to their jointly released Smartphone Insights Report 2026. The report said 89% of users now consider AI features when choosing a phone, as buyers shift from specification-led upgrades toward what the companies described as more experience-driven decisions. India has more than 750 million smartphone users and is the world’s second-largest smartphone market, Counterpoint said when it published the report overview on May 3. ### Who published the report, and when did it appear? Flipkart said it unveiled the Smartphone Insights Report 2026 with Counterpoint Research on April 29 at its “India’s Favourite Smartphone Awards,” an event it said was attended by more than 400 creators, brands and industry partners. Counterpoint later listed the report on its website on May 3, naming senior research analyst Prachir Singh as author and describing it as a subscription product. (stories.flipkart.com) Counterpoint’s overview said the report covers an Indian smartphone base of more than 750 million users. The research firm described India as the world’s second-largest smartphone market and said buyers are weighing performance, AI integration and long-term value together rather than chasing incremental hardware upgrades. (stories.flipkart.com) ### What does “9 in 10 buyers want AI” actually mean? The headline number in the report was 89%, not a rounded 90%, and Flipkart said that share of users indicated AI features influence purchase decisions. The company said those features span voice assistance, search, content creation and personalization in daily use. (counterpointresearch.com) Gadgets360, citing the report, said the findings point to a market where buyers are judging phones by how they fit everyday work, entertainment and communication rather than by raw specifications alone. That framing matches Counterpoint’s own description of a move toward “experience-first” buying. (stories.flipkart.com) ### Which buyers are using AI for what? Flipkart said AI use differs by cohort. Gen Z users lean toward content creation and entertainment, while millennials use AI more for productivity and planning. Women users, Flipkart said, use AI “in particular” for everyday assistance and lifestyle needs. (gadgets360.com) Several secondary reports, citing the same study, described those lifestyle uses in more concrete consumer categories such as skincare and parenting. Those examples did not appear in the summary text available on Flipkart’s or Counterpoint’s pages, but the broader demographic split did. (stories.flipkart.com) ### Is AI still a premium-phone feature in India? Flipkart said AI is spreading into the 15,000-20,000 rupee price band, where it is “rapidly becoming a baseline expectation rather than a premium feature.” The report summary also said 30% adoption of GenAI-enabled devices was already visible in that segment. (moneycontrol.com) Counterpoint’s report overview said features once treated as premium are becoming standard across the category. The examples named in public summaries were performance, camera quality and battery life, which the report said are now basic expectations rather than differentiators. (stories.flipkart.com) ### If price still matters, why are buyers paying more? The report said price and value for money remain the top purchase drivers for 60% of buyers, ahead of brand trust at 57% and online reviews at 56%. At the same time, buyers are using financing to stretch into better devices: Gadgets360 said 43% are opting for EMI options, while other reports citing the same study put that figure at 33%, suggesting variation in public summaries of the data. (stories.flipkart.com) Business coverage of the report said buyers are also willing to pay more for specific upgrades, including camera and performance improvements. That combination — value sensitivity alongside selective premiumization — is central to how the report describes India’s current smartphone market. (gadgets360.com) ### What can and can’t be verified from the public material? The public pages from Flipkart and Counterpoint verify the core claims: the April 29 unveiling, the 89% AI figure, the demographic split between Gen Z, millennials and women users, the 750 million-plus market size, and the report’s May 2026 publication listing. (gadgets360.com) The more specific claim that “Circle to Search” drove appeal could not be confirmed from the official summaries or the report overview available publicly. Counterpoint’s full report is behind a paywall, so any feature-level examples beyond the published summaries should be treated as unverified unless the full report or a direct company statement is made public. (counterpointresearch.com) (stories.flipkart.com)