While Xiaomi remained focused on selling mobile phones under 10,000 rupees ($120), Indian consumers were willing to pay up for better looking models with richer features.
According to Counterpoint, the market share of the sub-$120 phones in India fell to 26% in 2022 from 41% two years ago.
And premium phones - priced above 30,000 ($360) - saw their share double to 11% in the same period.
Xiaomi and Samsung both count India as a key growth market, with smartphones their top selling electronic device.
And premium phones accounted for only 0%-1% of Xiaomi's total India phone shipments in the last two years, when Samsung's higher-end phones more than doubled their share to 13%, Counterpoint data showed.