New Delhi, July 13: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a major deciding factor for smartphone buyers in India, with consumers increasingly prioritising intelligent features alongside performance and privacy, according to a report released by CyberMedia Research (CMR) on Monday.
The report found that 68 per cent of consumers now consider AI capabilities an important factor while purchasing a smartphone, while 82 per cent said transparent data practices and trust significantly influence their buying decisions.
According to the study, 61 per cent of consumers believe on-device AI processing offers faster performance while enhancing user privacy, reflecting a growing preference for AI features that work directly on smartphones without relying heavily on cloud services.
The report identified performance (78 per cent) as the top purchase criterion, followed by camera quality with AI enhancements (70 per cent) and strong AI capabilities (59 per cent). Notably, AI features now rank ahead of design, price and battery life in influencing purchasing decisions.
When choosing between smartphones in a similar price range, 60 per cent of respondents preferred a balanced combination of advanced AI capabilities and powerful hardware. While 25 per cent described themselves as AI-first buyers, only 15 per cent continued to prioritise hardware over AI features.
“AI is no longer viewed as an added feature; it is increasingly shaping the overall device experience. Across demographics and price segments, consumers expect AI that is useful, intuitive, and seamlessly integrated into everyday interactions,” said Prabhu Ram, Vice President of the Industry Research Group (IRG) at CyberMedia Research.
He added that as consumer expectations continue to evolve, AI capabilities will play an even greater role in smartphone differentiation and future purchasing decisions.
The report also revealed that 57 per cent of consumers clearly understand and actively use AI features, while 43 per cent use them only occasionally or have limited engagement.
Among active AI users, 49 per cent regularly use five or more AI-powered features, 41 per cent are moderate users, and 10 per cent access AI tools only when prompted. Researchers noted that the moderate-user segment represents significant untapped growth potential for the smartphone industry.
Photography continues to be the most popular application of AI, with 77 per cent of consumers actively using AI-powered camera features such as low-light enhancement, portrait optimisation and intelligent scene detection.
Additionally, 71 per cent of respondents reported using generative AI features several times a week for AI-assisted search, content summarisation, writing assistance, translation and conversational AI tools, highlighting the growing role of AI in everyday smartphone usage.
