After years of stagnant demand, India’s smartphone market is on the cusp of a growth surge driven by on-device AI moving beyond premium handsets to affordable, mass-market devices. Qualcomm India President Savi Soin has called this transition the “next G moment” after waves of 3G, 4G and 5G services, where AI-powered experiences will fundamentally reshape how consumers interact with their mobile phones.
Speaking to Moneycontrol at the India Mobile Congress 2025, Soin said AI is rapidly cascading to lower-priced devices, delivering advanced features to a wider audience. “Next year, you will see devices that are much more than just flagships,” he said. “The way people interact with their phones will fundamentally change.”
Watch Full Interview: On-Device AI to Drive India’s Next Smartphone Surge: Qualcomm's Savi Soin
India is central to this shift, said Qualcomm, which is enabling country-specific use cases from regional-language AI assistants to smart glasses and automotive applications. “India is a prime market where XR experiences and smart glasses can really take off,” Soin said, pointing to the India's social media engagement and rapid technology adoption.
Beyond devices, Qualcomm is collaborating with the Indian government and local developers to advance edge AI, ensuring that processing and intelligence happen directly on devices, rather than in the cloud. “Devices today have huge compute capabilities. On-device AI is a big opportunity for India,” Soin said.
Qualcomm also views India’s expanding policy push - the semiconductor mission, PLI for handsets and ECMS for components - as major catalysts for building a local innovation ecosystem. With a strong talent pool and growing tech infrastructure, the company believes these initiatives will help both its own operations and a wider Indian semiconductor and devices market.
Soin said India’s policies provide Qualcomm with opportunities to engage more deeply across semiconductor manufacturing, components and edge AI applications. “Given India’s strong workforce and talent, the country will play an important role in each of these areas,” he said.
On semiconductors, Qualcomm is actively working with local partners to assess their preparedness, and plan future engagement. The company is also mentoring startups and investing through Qualcomm Ventures to strengthen India’s nascent semiconductor ecosystem.
The component ecosystem is another focus area. As production of displays and other components gathers momentum in India, Soin said Qualcomm is collaborating with suppliers to optimize the Snapdragon experience locally - a strategy the company has successfully implemented in Japan and China.
Edge AI is emerging as another key opportunity. “We don’t believe everything needs to go to the cloud. Devices today have huge compute and processing capabilities,” Soin said.
Beyond policy, Qualcomm is betting on India as a strategic hub for innovation in multiple areas, including automotive technology, smart glasses and affordable 5G devices.
With over 20 years of presence in India, Qualcomm is now positioning itself to not only supply technology but also help nurture a homegrown ecosystem. “We’re just getting started with what we’re doing in India,” Soin said. “From smartphones and PCs to cars and wearable devices, India is an increasingly important market for Qualcomm’s growth and innovation.”
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