India, July 25 -- An intriguing shift is underway in India's smartphone market, underlined by a new generation of flagship phones. These are smaller in size, and while sporting similarly premium price tags, better ergonomics work in their favour. Smartphone makers Xiaomi, OnePlus, Vivo, as well as Apple and Samsung, now sell powerful phones with screen sizes that are either 6.3-inches or smaller.

Yet, there are layers to this - overcoming challenges posed by smaller dimensions, sustaining consumer interest, and making compact phones more affordable.

In recent years, 6.7-inch and thereabouts screen sizes became the norm for flagships. This evolution now puts the widest selection of smaller phones, for buyers to choose from. The Vivo X200...