The Laptop Buyer Insights Survey 2026: a summary

• By Varun Mirchandani
Published On: 18 May 2026 | 11:29 IST

The Indian laptop market is becoming increasingly mature, with buyers now more focused on performance, research, and long-term value than ever before. To understand how consumer preferences are evolving in 2026, 91mobiles conducted its latest Laptop Buyer Insights Survey based on responses from over 3,000 users across India.

The survey reveals shifting brand loyalties, growing interest in AI-powered features, and changing buying habits among consumers. From the brands people currently own and aspire to upgrade to, to the factors influencing purchase decisions and shopping preferences, the findings highlight a market where buyers are researching more deeply, comparing multiple options, and prioritising better overall experiences.

Here are the biggest insights from the 91mobiles Laptop Buyer Insights Survey 2026.

Trends in laptop ownership

• HP continues to lead current laptop ownership among surveyed users with a 25.9 percent share.
• Lenovo follows at 19.1 percent, while Dell secures the third spot at 16.1 percent.
• ASUS remains a major player with a 12.5 percent ownership share, while Apple stands at 7.1 percent.
• Lenovo has emerged as the most preferred brand for future upgrades, with 18.3 percent of respondents saying they want a Lenovo laptop next.
  
  
  
• HP follows closely at 17.9 percent, while ASUS secures a 17.2 percent share among future purchase preferences.
• Apple shows one of the strongest aspiration jumps. While only 7.1 percent currently own a MacBook, 14.4 percent say they want one next.
• Lenovo recorded the biggest ownership growth between 2025 and 2026, rising from 15.4 percent to 19.1 percent.
• Apple and HP also gained ownership share year-on-year.
• ASUS recorded the biggest ownership decline, falling from 16.7 percent in 2025 to 12.5 percent in 2026.
• Dell, Samsung, Acer, Infinix, MSI, and LG also witnessed declines in ownership share.

Brand loyalty among laptop users

• Apple continues to dominate customer loyalty among laptop brands.
• 63.9 percent of Apple users said they are likely to buy another Apple laptop when upgrading next.
• HP ranks second in loyalty at 58.1 percent.
• Dell, Lenovo, and ASUS are clustered in the mid-40 percent range for customer retention.
• Acer and Infinix recorded the weakest customer retention numbers among major brands.
  
  
  
• Infinix saw the biggest jump in loyalty compared to 2025, despite its ownership decline.
• HP and MSI also saw marginal improvements in customer retention.
• Dell witnessed the sharpest drop in brand loyalty year-on-year.
• ASUS and Apple continue to attract users from multiple rival brands.
• A notable number of HP, Dell, and Lenovo users said they plan to switch to ASUS or Apple for their next laptop.
• Samsung users showed particularly strong interest in moving toward Apple laptops.

How people decide on a new laptop

• More than 61 percent of respondents said they replace their laptops only after four years.
• 27.3 percent upgrade every two to four years.
• Only 11.5 percent replace their laptops within two years.
• Users between 18 and 24 years old are significantly more likely to upgrade frequently compared to older age groups.
• The biggest reason people buy a new laptop is that their current machine is no longer performing well enough.
• 32.8 percent said they upgrade because they want a newer or better laptop.
• Nearly 40 percent of users take two weeks or more before finalising a laptop purchase.
  
  
  
• E-commerce websites emerged as the biggest source of information while researching laptops.
• YouTube reviews and gadget websites such as 91mobiles, MySmartPrice, and GSMArena remain highly influential.
• Nearly half of the respondents said they consult more than three reviews or videos before buying a laptop.
• Around 64 percent compare four or more laptops before making a purchase decision.
• The findings highlight how modern buyers are researching specifications, benchmarks, reviews, and pricing far more carefully than before.

Aspects that matter most while purchasing a new laptop

• Performance remains the single most important factor when buying a new laptop.
• A massive 73.5 percent of respondents said performance matters most during purchase decisions.
• Battery life, display quality, storage, and design trail significantly behind performance in buyer priorities.
• Among users evaluating performance, 45.1 percent said the processor is the most important component.
• Graphics cards ranked second at 23.1 percent.
• RAM capacity and benchmark scores were also considered important by buyers.
• Intel continues to dominate processor awareness among consumers.
• Nearly 87 percent of respondents said they have heard of Intel laptop processors.
• AMD secured 64.4 percent awareness, while Apple stood at 56.6 percent.
• Qualcomm and MediaTek trail significantly behind Intel and AMD in laptop processor awareness.
  
  
  
• Intel also dominates processor preference, with 47.1 percent of users preferring Intel-powered laptops.
• AMD secured 19.5 percent preference share, while Apple stood at 9.7 percent.
• 16 percent of respondents said processor branding does not matter as long as the laptop itself is good.
• NVIDIA remains the dominant GPU brand in buyer perception.
• Nearly 60 percent of respondents said they prefer NVIDIA GPUs in laptops.

What buyers prioritise in displays and visuals

• Screen technology has emerged as the most important display-related factor among laptop buyers.
• Around 30.7 percent prioritise screen technology such as IPS LCD or AMOLED panels.
• Refresh rate ranked second at 24.5 percent.
• Screen resolution and display size also remain important considerations.
• Buyers are increasingly becoming aware of better panel quality, smoother refresh rates, and premium display experiences.
• Features like OLED panels and high-refresh-rate displays are steadily becoming mainstream expectations.

AI is becoming a major part of the laptop buying conversation

• AI-powered features are becoming increasingly important for laptop buyers.
• The most desired AI feature among respondents was AI-powered productivity tools.
• Nearly 35 percent prioritised features like real-time summaries and voice typing.
• Smart battery optimisation and AI-powered gaming enhancements also ranked highly.
• Only 18.9 percent of respondents said they do not care about AI capabilities.
• The findings suggest AI awareness has become mainstream among laptop buyers.
• ChatGPT emerged as the most popular AI tool used on laptops.
• More than 61 percent of respondents said they use ChatGPT.
• Google Gemini followed closely at 56.3 percent.
• Microsoft Copilot, Claude, and Perplexity also recorded meaningful adoption numbers.
• The survey suggests AI assistants are rapidly becoming part of everyday computing workflows.

How people prefer to purchase a new laptop

• Nearly 60 percent of respondents said they paid Rs 50,000 or more for their current laptop.
• The most popular price segment was between Rs 50,000 and Rs 75,000.
• Nearly 20 percent spent between Rs 75,000 and Rs 1 lakh.
• The findings suggest buyers are increasingly willing to spend more for better specifications, premium displays, and stronger performance.
• More than half of respondents said they would pay the full amount upfront for a laptop purchase.
• Nearly 30 percent prefer using EMI offers from banks.
• Another 12.8 percent said they would use digital lending or pay-later services.
• Users between 18 and 24 years old are significantly more likely to rely on EMI or financing options.
• Financing continues to play a major role in enabling premium laptop purchases among students and young professionals.

Online vs offline laptop buying preferences

• Offline retail continues to remain highly relevant in the laptop market.
• If online and offline prices are the same, nearly 48 percent of respondents prefer buying offline.
• Only 29.3 percent prefer online shopping in that scenario.
• If online prices are Rs 5,000 cheaper, online purchase preference jumps sharply to 59.1 percent.
• If offline prices are Rs 5,000 cheaper, nearly 68 percent prefer purchasing offline.
• Buyers still value physically checking devices before purchase.
• Build quality, keyboard feel, display quality, and in-store assistance continue to influence offline buying behaviour.
• At the same time, relatively small pricing differences can strongly shift buyer preferences between online and offline channels.

What the 2026 survey reveals about the Indian laptop market

• Indian laptop buyers are becoming significantly more informed and research-driven.
• Consumers are comparing more laptops, watching more reviews, and spending more time evaluating devices before making a purchase.
• Performance continues to dominate buyer priorities, especially processor and GPU capabilities.
• AI-powered features are rapidly becoming mainstream expectations among laptop users.
• HP remains the biggest installed laptop brand in the market.
• Lenovo is steadily emerging as the most preferred mainstream upgrade brand.
• Apple continues to dominate customer loyalty and premium aspiration.
• Buyers are increasingly willing to spend above Rs 50,000 for better overall experiences.
• Financing options continue to play a major role among younger buyers.
• Offline retail remains highly relevant despite the growth of e-commerce.
• Overall, the Indian laptop market is steadily shifting toward more premium, performance-focused, and experience-driven purchases.

Usage Rights

This report is for internal consumption only and should not be shared publicly. If a brand wishes to use this data for social media, marketing, or advertisements, please contact 91mobiles for explicit approval at advertise@91mobiles.com.