Opening thoughts. You may have very valid views on this, but I believe the headline development as we enter the first edition of Wired Wisdom for 2026 is this – India’s broadband subscriber base has crossed the 1 billion (100.37 crore to be specific) mark, now that the official TRAI numbers are firm for the month of November 2025. For reference, this number was 131.49 million (13.15 crore) in the same month of 2015, a 6-fold increase. This growth is driven by increased speeds across wired broadband (e.g. fiber and DSL) as well as home Wi-Fi and wireless (5G and before that 4G) across all devices, including smartphones. I have repeatedly said that India’s broadband growth requires greater contribution from the wired broadband sector, as 5G is pulling most of the load at the moment.
Editor’s Corner: CES, and a subtle restructuring
By the time you read this the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) will be underway in Las Vegas, and as is the case every year, I like to keep a keen eye on the build-up (one point of not being in Las Vegas is that it’s more efficient to cover it from afar) – this is when the most interesting developments seem to occur. A summary of the most interesting takeaways from the jam-packed set.
Samsung sees AI as something that will work better in an ecosystem rather than as an isolated chatbot. The “AI Living Companion” approach will build on Samsung’s already very extensive AI-enabled, connected ecosystem by integrating what they call ‘true AI companion’ experiences into their daily lives. It’s hard to bet against Samsung’s intent or scale, given the bespoke AI for India trajectory that focuses on localization, Bixby turning AI into an assistant, and SmartThings as the key to monitoring and managing connected devices at home. “Samsung is building more integrated, more personalized experiences across mobile, visual displays, home appliances and services. With our global connected ecosystem, and embedding AI across all categories, Samsung is leading the way in offering more meaningful everyday AI experiences,” says TM Roh, CEO and head of Samsung’s Device Experience (DX) division. The new Tizen OS based, ultra-thin OLED S95H as well as the Freestyle+ are just two examples from the comprehensive refreshed device lineup that are ushering in the new AI vision.
This isn’t the only big announcement from Samsung. The stunning Timeless Frame aesthetic, first seen in Samsung’s 2013 Timeless Gallery design, makes a statement with the world’s first 130-inch Micro RGB TV (the R95H model to be specific). Hun Lee, Executive Vice President of Visual Display (VD) Business at Samsung Electronics, says, “Micro RGB represents the pinnacle of our picture quality innovation, and the new 130-inch model takes that vision even further. We are reviving the spirit of our original design philosophy introduced more than a decade ago to deliver an unmistakable premium display engineered with technology for a new generation.” It’s not all pretense, the R95H gets Samsung’s proprietary Glare Free technology, image processing tools like Micro RGB AI Engine Pro, Micro RGB Color Booster Pro and Micro RGB HDR Pro, as well as support for the HDR10+ advanced standard and integration of AI tools from Microsoft CoPilot and Perplexity.
Every year, LG does something that’s cool enough to claim that they’ve made the thinnest TV, the most flexible display, or something along those lines, and we never actually get to see these TVs afterward. The 2026 edition is no different. This year, that familiar conversation is being led by The Wallpaper TV, or LG OLED Evo W6, which is 9mm thin. LG says this has been achieved by “careful miniaturization of essential components and complete re-engineering of its internal architecture.” The other piece of the puzzle is LG’s True Wireless technology, whose inputs are found on the Zero Connect box, which can be placed up to 10 meters from the TV. Pricing and availability of this innovation, especially for India, are (as expected) currently missing.
BlackBerry may be back, that’s all. Clix, the British startup best known for its “Clix for iPhone” keyboard case accessories, is making a bold bet in the smartphone space – a phone that embodies the good old days of physical QWERTY keyboards, and is very similar to a BlackBerry phone in terms of design. The Clix Communicator has Android at its foundation (nothing else would work, right?) There’s of course a physical keyboard, a 4-inch OLED display, a 50-megapixel main camera with a 24-megapixel selfie sensor, and hardware-level encryption. It’s currently available for reservation with an expected launch price of $399, and will support WhatsApp (in case you were wondering). I wouldn’t mind having it at all as my second phone or even primary work phone.
We may (hopefully should) see more of this in 2026. Chinese gaming brand 8BitDo is leading the way with the teaser of the FlipPad, a flip-style gamepad designed for mobile gaming. Works with Android phones and Apple iPhones, and the company says this accessory is officially supported by Apple. Will be available for purchase sometime in the summer, and pricing details are expected then.
Finally, Lego! LEGO has announced a “Smart Play System” featuring Smart Bricks, Smart Minifigures and Smart Tags. Each piece consists of a 4.1 mm ASIC chip, sensors, and copper coils with a unique digital ID. This allows individual Lego pieces to detect distance, direction and orientation relative to others, triggering sounds, lights and contextual reactions during play. Pre-orders start soon, and I’d love to know the price tags of these sets.
Analysis: India’s smartphone intentions struggle
India’s smartphone market continues to expand rapidly, with shipment volumes set to reach a multi-year high in late 2025. Yet despite this growth and a strong local manufacturing base supported by initiatives such as Make in India and related incentives, domestic brands are conspicuously absent from the major market share charts. Global players – notably Vivo, Samsung, Oppo and increasingly Apple – dominate the landscape, leaving Indian brands (of which there are not so many now) largely in the periphery.
There is a structural weakness at the root of this contradiction. Indian phone companies have historically failed to innovate at the level required to compete in the rapidly evolving smartphone ecosystem. Analysts I spoke to attribute this failure to the fundamental nature of early Indian brands like, but not limited to, Micromax (including its U sub-brand), Karbonn, Intex and Spice. Rather than developing deep research and development (R&D) capabilities, proprietary intellectual property (IP) or differentiated software platforms, these brands largely functioned as resellers of Chinese-made devices, often sourcing fully manufactured products and selling them under local labels with minimal investment in core technology.
This model left Indian brands exposed on two fronts, that is cost and consumer perception. When Chinese competitors like Xiaomi entered the market with disruptive price-to-specification products, for example the Mi 3 (if I may, take a little trip down memory lane, with a link to my piece from Mint’s Business of Life at that time) which started significantly reshaping expectations as early as 2014, Indian brands struggled to match that combination of affordability, performance and user experience. On flagship-esque specs 13,999 was, then, unheard of. Without hardware scale, supply-chain control and other pieces of the puzzle, domestic brands were quickly overtaken. A little surprise there.
There are exceptions – Lava International stands out in the lower price band with notable year-on-year growth and a strong balanced portfolio. 10,000 price point, as well as some more expensive phones. I reviewed their latest premium smartphone, the impressive Agni 4, and it’s clear that the intent is to build with competitive hardware, while not ignoring the India-focused AI assistant called Air AI, which, to be fair, seems to be quite culturally tailored as far as its toolset is concerned. Still, analysts caution that Lava’s connection with key youth and aspirational buyers remains weak, and continued innovation and strategic clarity will be necessary if it is to grow meaningfully. I would say it is important to upgrade the brand with the increasing social prestige and financial strength of the buyer.
Looking ahead, the next significant inflection point may be the shift to 6G and increasingly AI-powered mobile experiences – we don’t know when, but it’s going to happen soon and will present both a challenge and a potential opening. But without adequate investment in R&D, intellectual property and genuine innovation, analysts doubt whether Indian phone brands can engineer a sustainable resurgence in a market already crowded with global competitors. But we collectively hope.
