India is the second-largest smartphone market in the world, with over 600 million active users and demand growing across every price segment. There are so many smartphone OEMs fighting for a slight share in market, that you are spoilt for choices. It is becoming increasingly difficult to understand which brand to trust, and which to avoid, and what to prioritize, and what to not.
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While the specifications sheet is a good place to start, there are several other parameters to consider before buying a smartphone. This checklist will not help you pick between cameras or processors. It will help you ask the questions that spec sheets never answer.
1. Does it have a valid BIS certification, and can you verify it?
No smartphone can legally be sold in India without registration under the Bureau of Indian Standards' Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS), which certifies that a device meets Indian safety standards under IS 13252 for electrical safety, electromagnetic compatibility, and radiation levels. Every certified device carries a BIS registration number. Check it on the official BIS portal at bis.gov.in before you buy. A phone without a verifiable BIS number is not just a consumer risk, it is an illegal product.
After Chinese Links Controversy, Ai+ Offers Reviewers A Chance To Test Nova 2 Neo 5G & Nova 2 Pro 5G Before India Sale2. Have you verified the IMEI on the government's Sanchar Saathi portal?
The Department of Telecommunications runs Sanchar Saathi, a citizen portal that lets you verify whether a device's IMEI number is genuine, blacklisted, or duplicated. You can check it online or simply send an SMS - KYM followed by the 15-digit IMEI to 14422. This is especially critical for second-hand purchases, grey-market devices, and any brand whose supply chain you cannot independently verify.
3. Where is your data actually stored, and what does the privacy policy say in plain language?
The Ai+ controversy centred specifically on this question. The brand marketed itself on a 'data stays in India' promise, while its pre-installed apps were traced to a China-based company, Sprocomm Technologies, whose own privacy policy stated it could collect data from user input, automatic usage, and third-party sources. Under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, companies are legally required to provide a privacy notice in clear, plain language, in English or any of the 22 scheduled languages, explaining what data is collected, why, and how you can withdraw consent. Read it. If it is absent, vague, or links to a foreign entity as the data processor, that is a red flag.
'Trust Must Be Earned Every Single Day': Indian Smartphone Brand Ai+ Breaks Silence On Chinese Links Controversy4. What is the brand's committed software update policy, and is it in writing?
A smartphone you buy today will face security vulnerabilities that do not yet exist. The only protection is a committed update policy. Samsung guarantees 7 years of OS upgrades and security patches for its Galaxy S flagship series; Google Pixel matches that for Pixel 8 and later. Budget and newer brands frequently offer no written commitment at all, which means your Rs. 15,000 phone could be running unpatched security holes within 18 months of purchase. Ask the brand directly and look for a written, publicly stated policy before you spend your money.
5. Is the brand transparent about who actually manufactured the hardware?
The global ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) model means that dozens of 'different' phones are, at their core, the same device wearing different clothes. This is not inherently wrong, but it becomes a problem when a brand actively markets a phone as sovereign, locally engineered, or independently designed when it is a rebranded product from a third-party factory. Research as to where the device was designed and manufactured. If the answer is evasive, that evasiveness is itself informative.
6. What are your rights if the phone is defective, and does the brand have authorised service centres near you?
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 entitles you to a repair, replacement, or refund if a device fails to meet promised standards, and classifies a brand's refusal to honour valid warranty claims as an unfair trade practice under Section 2(47). Before buying from a newer or less-established brand, check whether it has authorised service centres in your city. A brand that sells nationally but services only in metros is a practical problem the law cannot easily solve, and consumer forum proceedings, while your right, can take months.
7. Does the pre-installed software serve you, or someone else?
Pre-installed apps that cannot be removed are one of the most consequential and least-discussed aspects of budget smartphone buying in India. The question to ask is not just whether bloatware is present, but who built it, where it sends data, and whether it can be fully uninstalled. The Ai+ investigation found apps with rebranded Chinese package names still present on retail units purchased within India, not pre-production samples. Check independent teardown reviews before buying, and treat any brand that resists scrutiny of its pre-installed software as a brand with something to hide.
8. Has the brand ever used legal action to suppress reviews or critical coverage?
This is a new question for Indian consumers in 2026, and it matters. When Ai+ secured a Delhi High Court injunction with a John Doe clause against YouTubers who had published critical reviews, it did not just affect those creators, it created a chilling effect on the entire reviewer community. A brand that responds to criticism with court orders rather than corrections is telling you something important about how it views accountability. Before buying, check whether the brand has a history of legal action against reviewers. Public court records, creator community forums, and tech journalism archives are your tools here.
9. Is the 'Made in India' claim about design and software, or just assembly?
India's smartphone manufacturing ecosystem has grown significantly, with companies like Optiemus Electronics operating large-scale assembly lines in Noida for multiple brands. Assembly in India is meaningful, but it is not the same as being designed, engineered, or softwarely sovereign in India. The distinction matters because the privacy risks, the quality of components, and the long-term support obligations differ enormously between a phone that is truly built here and one that is assembled here from imported parts running foreign software. Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, misleading advertisements constitute an unfair trade practice, so a brand that overstates its Indian origins is not just being economical with the truth; it may be acting unlawfully.
10. Can you find credible, independent reviews, and are those reviewers free to be critical?
The health of the review ecosystem is now a legitimate consumer concern. When independent creators face legal notices for publishing honest assessments, the quality of information available to buyers degrades for everyone. Before purchasing, look for reviews from creators who have a track record of critical coverage, not just those who received press units at a brand event. Check whether the brand has cooperated with, or retaliated against, reviewers in the past. And if a product has almost no critical coverage despite being widely available, ask yourself why.