Ai+ smartphone price hike from November 11: up to Rs 3,000 more

Ai+, an Indian budget smartphone brand, has moved its planned price increase forward by four days: new, higher prices for most of its phones now take effect on Wednesday, 11 November 2026 instead of Sunday, 15 November, the company said in a statement. The increases range from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000 depending on the model and memory version. The company said demand had been stronger than expected, existing stock was running out ahead of schedule, and fresh stock is being bought at higher memory and component costs.

Apart from its foldable, every Ai+ phone in the revised list costs under Rs 23,000, which places the brand in the budget market. For a first-time buyer or a student, Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 is a large share of the budget, so a rise of this size can change which phone a family picks.

The reason the company gives, memory and component costs, is the more important signal. RAM (the short-term working memory that lets a phone run several apps) and storage chips are among the most expensive parts of a budget phone. Large orders for memory chips from companies building artificial intelligence data centres have been reported as one cause of rising chip prices worldwide. When those costs go up, brands with thin margins on cheap phones have little room to absorb them, and pass them on to buyers.

The Ai+ statement also shows how the post-festive period is playing out. Its decision follows Diwali sales, when stock was cleared faster than the company planned. Reports say other budget brands, Lava among them, are also raising prices after Diwali. Shoppers who delayed a phone purchase until after the festival may find the same phone now costs more.

Peepals calculation: Measured as a share of the old price, the cheapest phones rise the most. Pulse 2 (4 GB + 64 GB) goes up about 22% (2,000 ÷ 8,999 ≈ 0.222), Nova 2 Neo 5G (4 GB + 64 GB) about 20% (2,500 ÷ 12,499 ≈ 0.200), Nova 2 5G (4 GB + 64 GB) about 17% (2,000 ÷ 11,999 ≈ 0.167), and Nova 2 Ultra 5G (8 GB + 128 GB) 15% (3,000 ÷ 19,999 ≈ 0.150). Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: Ai+ phones bought on or before 10 November are sold at the old prices while stock lasts, according to the company. From 11 November the higher prices apply.

Long-term: If memory costs keep rising, the sub-Rs 15,000 segment may see fewer phones with larger memory configurations, or higher prices across brands.

Who is affected: Budget smartphone buyers, especially students and first-time users, retailers selling Ai+ phones, and competing brands in the entry-level market.

What to watch next: Whether other budget brands announce increases of their own after Diwali, and whether Ai+ makes further changes to its price list.

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