India, Jan. 3 -- In the mobile world, 2025 proved a counterintuitive truth that innovation cannot guarantee commercial successes. After years of exuberant launches, and generous consumer demand, the tech sector entered a disciplined phase. Buyers became selective, channels unforgiving, and corporate boards asked harder questions about the product launches. In a year of muted growth, tech held steady but the consumers invested wisely. The result: While a few products succeeded by aligning with the realities, others faltered despite hyped launches, backed by marketing. The flips and flops, successes and failures had varying impact on the makers, as it turned out to be a war between America, South Korea, and China in India.

Slim smartphone ...