FlawCheck Price Index · India
How much more new phones cost than the models they replace
Every month we compare the official India launch price of each new phone with its direct predecessor, on the same RAM and storage where both offer it. We also log price rises on phones already on sale. Each edition is dated and kept, so the series shows how prices move month by month.
October 2026 edition. Prices checked through October 27, 2026, shown in US dollars. Every edition has been reviewed by an editor. Next edition (November 2026) due December 5, 2026.
The index this month
- Median launch-price change
- +33% 9 new phones vs their predecessors
- Budget phones
- +83% average of 4 pairs, predecessor at or under $315
- Upper-tier phones
- +25% average of 5 pairs, predecessor above $315
- Biggest rise
- +159% Infinix GT 50 Pro vs Infinix GT 30 Pro
9 of 9 new phones launched above their predecessor. The index covers pairs added in the last 12 editions. The first edition carries over the nine pairs from our 2026 phone price hikes study.
Monthly series
| Edition | Pairs | Median | Budget avg | Upper avg | Added | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 9 | +33% | +83% | +25% | 9 pairs, 10 price rises | Reviewed |
Baseline edition. Carries over the nine pairs and ten repricings first published in the 2026 Phone Price Hikes study on October 27, 2026.
Launch price vs predecessor (9)
Matching RAM and storage where both phones offer it; otherwise base variants. Percentages are FlawCheck's own calculations from official launch prices; dollar figures are converted at one rate per edition.
| Phone | Predecessor | Variant | Old price | New price | Change | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infinix GT 50 ProOct 2026 | Infinix GT 30 ProJun 2025 | 12GB + 256GBSame variant · Budget | $284 | $736 | +159% | 1, 2, 3 |
| vivo T5Sep 2026 | vivo T4Apr 2025 | 8GB + 128GBSame variant · Budget | $231 | $421 | +82% | 6, 7 |
| Redmi 17C 5GOct 2026 | Redmi 15C 5G | 4GB + 128GBSame variant · Budget | $131 | $221 | +68% | 4, 5 |
| OPPO Reno 16Jul 2026 | OPPO Reno 15Jan 2026 | 8GB + 256GBSame variant · Upper tier | $484 | $652 | +35% | 8, 9 |
| iQOO 15 | iQOO 13 | Base variantBase vs base · Upper tier | $578 | $767 | +33% | 11 |
| realme GT 8 Pro | realme GT 7 Pro | Base variantBase vs base · Upper tier | $631 | $767 | +22% | 11 |
| Redmi Note 15 | Redmi Note 14 | Base variantBase vs base · Budget | $200 | $242 | +21% | 11 |
| OPPO Reno 15Jan 2026 | OPPO Reno 14 | Base variantBase vs base · Upper tier | $399 | $484 | +21% | 9, 11 |
| vivo X300 | vivo X200 | Base variantBase vs base · Upper tier | $694 | $799 | +15% | 11 |
- Infinix GT 50 Pro: Only variant of the GT 50 Pro. The launch includes a gaming accessory bundle Infinix values at $263; it is excluded from the price.
- vivo T5: The cheapest T5 ($368) has 6GB of RAM, 2GB less than the cheapest T4.
- Redmi 17C 5G: Same Dimensity 6300 chip. Xiaomi skipped the 16C name in India.
Price rises after launch (10)
Phones already on sale that were repriced upward. These are not part of the launch-price median.
| Phone | Variant | Earlier price | Revised price | Change | Reported | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPPO Reno 16 | 8GB + 256GB | $652 | $767 | +18% | October 2026 | 10 |
| realme C71 | Base variant | $81 | $126 | +56% | September 2026 | 14 |
| OPPO A6x 5G | Base variant | $131 | $200 | +52% | September 2026 | 14 |
| iQOO Z11x | Base variant | $200 | $294 | +47% | September 2026 | 14 |
| Samsung Galaxy F06 5G | Base variant | $84 | $121 | +44% | September 2026 | 14 |
| Samsung Galaxy M07 | Base variant | $74 | $105 | +43% | September 2026 | 14 |
| OPPO A6 5G | 4GB + 128GB | $189 | $252 | +33% | June 2026 | 12 |
| OPPO A6 Pro 5G | 8GB + 256GB | $252 | $336 | +33% | June 2026 | 12 |
| OPPO F33 5G | 6GB + 128GB | $336 | $368 | +9% | June 2026 | 12 |
| realme 16 Pro+ 5G | 8GB + 256GB | $515 | $557 | +8% | June 2026 | 13 |
Evidence gap: Beebom lists old and new prices without the date of each change; the month is when the tracker was updated.
Download and cite
- Monthly series (CSV) one row per edition
- Launch price pairs (CSV) 9 rows
- Post-launch price rises (CSV) 10 rows
You are welcome to use these figures with credit and a link to this page. Please cite the edition, for example: “FlawCheck Price Index, October 2026 edition, flawcheck.org/research/price-index/”.
How the index works
- Prices. Official India launch MRP inclusive of taxes, as reported on launch day by the brand or Indian tech publications. Bank offers, exchange offers, effective prices and bundled accessories are excluded.
- US dollars. Prices are converted from the official India launch prices at the ECB reference rate (Frankfurter) on October 27, 2026 and rounded to the nearest dollar. Each edition keeps the rate it was published with. Percentages are calculated from the original launch prices, so the exchange rate does not change them.
- Variants. Compare the same RAM and storage variant when both generations offer it; otherwise compare base variants. A cheaper base model with less memory is not treated as a price cut.
- Segments. A pair is budget when the predecessor launched at $315 or less, upper tier otherwise. Segment figures are simple averages; the headline is the median, so one extreme launch cannot move it far.
- Monthly editions. An edition covers launches and price changes reported in its month and is published on the 5th of the following month. Published editions are never rewritten. A wrong price is corrected by a new row in a later edition that names the row it replaces, so the earlier edition's figures stay as published. See our corrections policy.
- Review. An editor checks each edition's prices against the cited sources before it is marked reviewed.
- No score. The index reports prices. It does not rate any phone. For whether a phone is worth its price, read its review.
See also: why phone prices are rising in 2026, how much RAM an Android phone needs and how we review.
Sources
- Digit, Infinix GT 50 Pro launched at nearly thrice the GT 30 Pro's launch price, October 27, 2026.
- My Mobile India, Infinix GT 50 Pro launched in India, October 27, 2026.
- GSMArena, Infinix GT 30 Pro launched in India, June 3, 2025.
- 91mobiles, Redmi 17C 5G launched in India, October 1, 2026.
- Techgenyz, Redmi 17C 5G price vs Redmi 15C 5G, October 6, 2026.
- vivo India newsroom, vivo T5 launch press release, September 2, 2026.
- Digit, vivo T4 5G launched in India, April 22, 2025.
- TelecomTalk, OPPO Reno 16 and Reno 16c launched in India, July 2, 2026.
- GSMArena, OPPO Reno15 series India price and sale date, January 13, 2026.
- Trak.in, OPPO Reno 16 price increased by up to Rs 7,000, October 23, 2026.
- 91mobiles, Why smartphone prices are rising in 2026.
- 91mobiles, OPPO A6, A6 Pro and F33 prices raised, June 22, 2026.
- My Mobile India, realme 16 series price increase, June 26, 2026.
- Beebom, India smartphone price hike tracker, September 14, 2026.