India’s smartphone financing ecosystem continues to evolve in the second quarter of 2026 as brands increasingly focused on improving affordability through more flexible repayment structures.
According to Counterpoint Research’s Monthly Smartphone Financing Tracker, the average financing tenure for mainline channel reached 10 months in the second quarter (Q2) of 2026, while premium brands such as Apple recorded an average tenure of 17.2 months, reflecting the growing use of longer-tenure financing to lower monthly ownership costs and support upgrades to higher-value smartphones.
The iPhone maker Apple recorded the highest average financing tenure among smartphone brands, while Samsung remained the leading brand in terms of smartphone units sold through Financing, followed by vivo and Apple. Looking ahead, Counterpoint says financing is expected to account for over half of smartphone sales in the mainline channel, driven by strong NBFC-led affordability programs. However, due to relatively lower financing penetration in online channels, overall smartphone financing is expected to account for 42% of total smartphone sales in India in 2026, adds the research group.
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