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CMR Study Finds AI Features Now Drive Smartphone Purchases in India, With Trust the Deciding Factor

July 14, 2026 at 09:34 EDT

Sales & Business
Foundation Models

A new consumer study from CyberMedia Research (CMR) finds that artificial intelligence has become a decisive purchase driver for smartphone buyers in India, with 68% of respondents saying they will prioritise AI features on their next device—yet 82% insisting that trust and data transparency will ultimately determine which handset they choose.

Smartphone AI Pulse 2026 · India

AI Sells the Phone — But Trust Closes the Sale

A survey of 2,000+ smartphone users aged 18–35 across eight Indian cities finds AI is now a decisive purchase driver — yet buyers say data transparency will ultimately decide which handset they choose.

The two pillars of the next upgrade

68%

Prioritise AI features
on next phone

82%

Cite trust & data
transparency as decisive

Impressive feature sets alone may not close a sale — the 14-point gap is where trust decides.

61%

say on-device AI improves both responsiveness and privacy

57%

understand and use AI features in their daily routine

2,000+

users aged 18–35 polled across 8 Indian cities

What earns the buyer's trust

AI has moved from a marketing checkbox to a genuine part of the daily experience — but enthusiasm comes with caution about personal data.

TRANSPARENT DATA

Clear practices on how personal information is handled

ON-DEVICE PROCESSING

Local computation limits how much data leaves the handset

EVERYDAY UTILITY

AI cameras and assistance that work in daily use

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