Ericsson APAC CTO, Magnus Ewerbring, discussed the role of India in the scale of global smartphone manufacturing at the India Today AI Summit 2026. Ewerbring explained that with rapid advancements in AI, smartphones will improve, but we may also see new products.
The Ericsson chief’s session during the summit was titled, “AI for All/ Sovereign AI.” He highlighted that scale remains one of the most important aspects of the smartphone industry. Ewerbring said, “I think the mobile industry has [scale]. And India is a role model in that.”
According to Ewerbring, in the third quarter of 2025, “87 per cent of all smartphones sold in India were 5G capable.” And thanks to the economies of scale, 5G smartphones in India are available at affordable prices. Ekkuden labeled the scale of the Indian smartphone industry, “phenomenal.”
AI can help make networks more efficient
Ewerbring was asked how the application of AI can bring real-world improvements. The Ericsson APAC chief highlighted that networks could become more efficient. He reckoned that with AI, operators will get better spectrum efficiency. He explained, “We can improve the efficiency, how much information you can stack in one piece of the radio spectrum by 10 per cent.”
The radio spectrum is regulated in India by TRAI and given to mobile operators by auctions. Ewerbring accepted that made it a “sizable investment” for operators, and AI can help them extract more value out of the same bandwidth. Ewerbring stated,” That’s a huge value that is now being unleashed, thanks to using AI in a very core part or products. And that’s for the benefit of the users.”
AI will change your smartphone
When asked how would AI transform the smartphone category in the future, the Ericsson APAC CTO replied, “The smartphone device will be snappier and better going forward.” However, Ewerbring believes that there will also be room for different products. He added, “But that’s certainly not the end of it. It also opens up for new kinds of devices coming about.”
Ewerbring reckoned that in the future, devices will get more “media intense.” One example he gave was of XR glasses. The Ericsson chief added, “We see high value use, like in healthcare, assisting surgeons in full commercial service.”
Ewerbring insisted that soon, we can have such devices in our daily use. He explained, “I live in Singapore, and coming here to Delhi, I look at a building. I want to know the history of that. And all of a sudden, I can see it explained on my screen [by the glasses].”
