Navdeep Narula shares how smartphones are evolving into hubs for AI-powered, IoT-connected ecosystems. He highlights India’s rising demand for premium devices, smart homes, and “Everything-as-a-Service” models. From satellite communication to AR/VR, he envisions a future where mobile devices are intelligent, immersive, and always connected.
Exclusive Interview with Navdeep Narula, Executive Director – Client & Endpoint Solutions, Ingram Micro India
IT VOICE – The traditional idea of “mobility” has evolved beyond smartphones to include tablets, wearables, hearables, and now IoT-enabled home devices. How is this convergence blurring competitive boundaries and reshaping the mobility product industry?
Navdeep Narula – For over a decade, the smartphone was the ultimate disruptor, famously cannibalizing a wide range of devices like digital cameras, portable music players, scanners, GPS devices, wrist watches, calculators, alarm clocks, voice recorders, etc. But now, as the tech landscape matures and IoT explodes, the smartphone is shifting from a solo performer to a central orchestrator in a much broader, connected ecosystem. Today, the smartphone isn’t trying to replace everything — it is becoming the hub, the remote control, and often the identity token for a mesh of specialized smart devices.
- Using your phone to unlock your smart lock
- Checking your security cams on-the-go
- Controlling your lights, thermostat, and appliances
- Syncing with your smartwatch or hearables for health tracking
- Serving as a dashboard for your EV or smart bike
- Seamlessly offloading tasks to home hubs, AR glasses, or connected displays
This represents a collaborative intelligence model, where each device is purpose-built, but cooperatively enhances the user’s lifestyle through tight integration. The smartphone is no longer just a product — it’s becoming an API for real life, for your environment.
- It authenticates, communicates, and personalizes your surroundings.
- It bridges mobile computing with edge computing and the cloud.
- It acts as a universal access point for digital services in physical spaces.
We have moved from a “smartphone as the center of the universe” era to a “smartphone as the conductor of a connected orchestra” future.
IT VOICE – Premiumization seems to be driving growth in smartphones, laptops, and even accessories. What are the key drivers behind this trend in the Indian context, and how are distribution strategies adapting to support this premium shift?
Navdeep Narula – Premiumization has been a dominant behavioural shift in the last five years approximately – more in the consumer technology space, and it was not showing any signs of a slowdown until recently. This phenomenon clearly kicked in with the pandemic in 2020. Among the many drivers of premiumization are Work from home / Learn from home & the high device dependence in a remote environment, Rising disposable income, Digital Fluency & Global Influence, Captive eco-system of brands (Apple is the best example) and Increasing popularity of gaming PCs & other gaming devices. While we see some recent deceleration in selected small categories like hearables and wearables, the key categories of laptops and smartphones will continue to be on the ramp-up, thanks to the more recent power-hungry AI applications across various platforms.
In order to capitalize on this trend, brands are not only competing in product innovations, they are also adopting smart distribution strategies like;
Focus on superior product experience – most premium brands are investing heavily in experience through brand stores or franchised exclusive stores to raise their product mix and average selling price
Online channel being supported by an omnichannel strategy to offer experience to the customer – Online only premium brands have practically disappeared, and the ones that have survived have quickly learnt that the customer looking for premium products requires a physical product experience as well. Consumers research online but still value the in-store experience for high-ticket purchases.
Expansion into smaller GEOs – Premium brands are expanding into smaller cities with a focus on brand experience zones, helping drive adoption beyond metros. Premiumization is no longer restricted to metros—rural India is catching up, aided by better connectivity and aspiration.
Training and upskilling of partner sales teams – Offline retailers and channel partners are being trained to communicate the value proposition of premium products, often backed by loyalty programs and better incentives.
Personalized and Assisted Selling – Distribution now includes virtual consultation, AR/VR product demos, and video shopping to help premium buyers make informed decisions.
IT VOICE – What are the most notable innovation trends you’re seeing across product categories like smartphones, tablets, hearables, and wearables? How are Indian consumers responding to this expanded digital lifestyle?
Navdeep Narula – This is a great time for technological innovations and, in a manner of speaking, forces the OEMs to “innovate or perish”. The ever-changing and demanding digital lifestyle of their customers and the competitive pressures of the environment continue to bring new use case-based developments and ever-reducing product life cycles.
Let us take a look at the major innovation trends with these key trends.
The Smartphone category is currently witnessing a huge transformation due to AI-driven features in Generative AI for photo editing, image generation, voice assistants, and real-time language translation (Samsung Galaxy AI, Google Gemini integration). The new form factors of Foldables and Flippables are fast gaining traction in the premium segment with innovations in hinge tech and durability. Satellite Connectivity & Emergency Features are slowly making inroads, with more focus on health and safety. While the Smartphone camera is still unable to replace the DSLR, the Pro-Level Cameras on the smartphones of today are definitely giving the prosumer brands a run for their money.
The declining Tablet category found a new lease of life with the pandemic and continues to find new use cases to keep the numbers going strong. The education segment, especially in the government sector, has been a huge customer of these devices of late and there are massive education projects underway centered around the tablet. The product innovations in this category have revolved around 2-in-1 Form Factors & Stylus Support, Detachable keyboards, Split-screen multitasking, etc.
Hearables have found takers in Spatial Audio & ANC (Active Noise Cancelation), AI Noise Isolation & Real-Time Translation, Battery & Comfort innovations like fast charging, ergonomic design, etc.
The product developers in Wearables (Smartwatches, Fitness Bands) have been focusing primarily on the health aspect by way of monitoring more parameters like SpO2, ECG, stress monitoring, sleep scoring, etc., and Localized Fitness & Lifestyle programs Integration.
Indian Consumers have embraced these innovations with open arms with just the right demographics, and there is clearly a willingness to pay for Utility + Experience. The tech adoption is getting democratized to tier 3 and tier 4 towns, as 5G connectivity becomes a great equalizer.
IT VOICE – Smart home solutions and consumer IoT devices are finally seeing traction in India. What’s driving this uptake, and how do you see the channel evolving to support this trend?
Navdeep Narula- Even as the smart home has been a buzzword in the innovation domain, the concept has been evolving and definitions changing over the last decade or so. The focus has shifted from energy efficiency and security to entertainment, lifestyle, remote surveillance, home automation, etc. In the last three to four years, owing to the easy access of the internet, the industry has seen a huge inflow of smart or consumer IoT devices in the categories of smart lighting, smart security, smart surveillance, smart appliances, home automation, smart entertainment, etc. Also noteworthy is the fact that various manufacturers and technology owners continue to work in silos and develop proprietary platforms, following no industry standard platform or applications leaving the smart home aspirants totally perplexed, adding to existing issues of security concerns, inter-operability, ethical and legal frameworks for consumer protection.
Eventually, this will lead to a business model development in a commercial environment. And will entail investment by an ISV / service provider into integration platforms/application to make the customer experience seamless and develop intuitive startup/upgradable modules that convert an existing home into a smart home. These affordable solutions (Branding suggestions: Smart home in a box, My first smart home) will need to be developed by putting together available consumer IOT products and technologies and making them work on an indigenous application or platform. The channel needs to offer the customer a smooth flight by potentially starting with a smart home network or smart lighting, or smart security, or smart surveillance, etc., and build a comprehensive experience over a period of time. The ISV community is possibly the most logical contender to exploit this large opportunity and needs to take the onus of developing a viable commercial business model, keeping in mind the current consumer perspective and behavioural insights.
IT VOICE – With high-speed GSM networks becoming more accessible, we’re seeing a surge in cloud gaming, HD streaming, and collaborative tools. How is this influencing demand patterns for hardware and peripherals in the mobility space?
Navdeep Narula- Democratization of high-speed GSM networks (like 5G and upcoming 6G advancements) is a game-changer for the mobility space. It’s not just enhancing connectivity — it’s reshaping user expectations and constantly helping build new use cases.
With cloud gaming platforms like Xbox Cloud Gaming, NVIDIA GeForce NOW, and PlayStation Remote Play going mobile, we see large demand for performance enhancing peripherals like Game controllers optimized for smartphones, High-refresh-rate displays (120Hz+ becoming the norm), Cooling accessories for extended gameplay, Powerful GPUs and AI chips in mobile devices to optimize rendering and responsiveness
HD and 4K streaming on-the-go (Netflix, YouTube, Twitch, etc.) requires hardware that complements premium content. This is clearly paving the way for Larger OLED or foldable screens for immersive viewing, High-quality wireless earbuds and hearables (AirPods Pro, Galaxy Buds, etc.), Hi-res audio DACs and adaptive noise-canceling tech, Device stands and portable projectors for shared viewing
Remote Collaboration Tools like Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Figma, and other real-time tools are now going mobile-native and this is now resulting in enhanced demand for Stylus-enabled tablets and foldables for digital whiteboarding and note-taking, Portable keyboards and mice to convert tablets/phones into full workstations, Multi-device docks and wireless casting solutions for hybrid work environments, Devices with stronger front-facing cameras and mics for video conferencing on the go.
As high-speed GSM networks democratize performance on-the-go, users expect desktop-class experiences in mobile form. That’s pushing demand for peripherals that enhance immersion, productivity, and longevity. The channel must evolve to not just sell devices, but to curate mobile ecosystems around evolving lifestyles.0
IT VOICE -“Everything-as-a-Service” models are transforming how consumers interact with devices. From device-as-a-service to bundled digital offerings, how is Ingram Micro preparing for this shift in both B2C and B2B segments?
Navdeep Narula- XaaS or “Everything as a Service” is evolving as tomorrow’s business model across both industrial and consumer domains. There are many successful examples of marketers turning expensive products into affordable pay-per-use service models. Uber offered ridesharing and reduced the need to own cars, Netflix’s streaming video replaced expensive content purchases, Xerox loaned photocopiers to corporates on a pay-per-print basis, and major IT companies like Google and Microsoft brought in cloud subscription services, among many others. Rolls-Royce was possibly among the first to embrace the XaaS model with its turbine engines for aircrafts. It charges its customers a fee for the number of hours flown using the Rolls-Royce engines. This way, expert maintenance reduces downtime, and the customers can plan for a predictable cost. IoT sensors are installed in the engines for easy tracking and control.
In today’s business world, large corporate houses and businesses are perishing due to ever-changing technology-enabled business models. In such a scenario, buying a technology product will always pose the risk of obsolescence and buying a futuristic product will be too expensive and an overkill. This will also limit the flexibility of moving to a different platform or business model. There are also unpredictable failures and service costs, which can never be fully factored into the business model.
Businesses are now beginning to see the advantages of an on-demand or pay-per-use B2B model. The X in the XaaS model stands for any kind of product, meaning that the product is not sold by itself, and the vendor charges for usage, like Uber or Netflix. In financial terms, the customer can turn capital expenses into operational expenses.
At Ingram Micro India, we have a compelling proposition for both the B2C and B2B segments. For the B2C audience, we work with all leading banking/financial institutions and our vendor principals to offer a very comprehensive range of affordability solutions (EMIs) to our partners for the consumer, covering the entire range of client and endpoint devices. To cater to the B2B segment, we have our in-house financial services arm, IMFS (Ingram Micro Financial Solutions), with a menu card of innovative leasing and financial solutions. To complete the offering, we also enable packaged XaaS offerings from our vendor principals and the HPE GreenLake is a good example of that.
IT VOICE – What do you believe the future holds for mobile device capabilities — from satellite communication and AI-native experiences to AR/VR integrations? How should the channel ecosystem gear up for these advanced use-cases?
Navdeep Narula- The mobile device ecosystem is undergoing a massive transformation on two counts. The first one is on the hardware or the form factor and the second one is on the applicational experience.
Let us first do some crystal gazing into the future of the mobile device itself. While this is a very vast & extremely interesting subject and I can possibly speak on this for hours, in a nutshell – there are multiple new and viable devices with the potential of fulfilling the needs of a digital human companion like the Smartwatch, the Ring, the AI Pin, the AR Glass, the futuristic Neural Devices, etc. What, however, remains to be seen is which of these will equal the popularity of the Smartphone, now that the demise of the same is being predicted by industry pundits.
On the other hand, the applicational universe is being shaped by a convergence of hardware innovation, AI-native intelligence, and immersive experiences like AR/VR — all underpinned by global connectivity and edge computing.
Satellite Communication for Global Reach is probably the most compelling alternative to the GSM technology, with no terrain or location constraints – working seamlessly in the middle of the sea, on top of a remote mountain or inside a deep tunnel. Watch out for SpaceX’s Starlink for more in this domain. In the short term, we can expect a hybrid network of cellular, Wi-Fi and satellite, hence devices will never be “offline” creating demand for always-on services and some brilliant new use cases.
AI-Native Experiences on the Device are all set to bring personalized user experiences beyond anything we have seen. We can expect Real-time translation, summarization, and coaching, Context-aware assistants that anticipate needs, Adaptive UI that evolves based on user behaviour. Devices will act more like co-pilots than tools — blending ambient intelligence with autonomy.
AR/VR & Spatial Computing will lead the shift toward spatial computing — where digital information integrates seamlessly with the physical world. These will drive Virtual collaboration/workspaces, Healthcare visualization, Education & simulation, Immersive gaming and retail.
These are the clear emerging trends and the Channel Ecosystem needs to prepare itself with upskilling on AI and XR implementation, pivoting from product reselling to ecosystem orchestration, helping customers consume experiences, not just devices, through Subscription models, Invest in Data & Analytics Capabilities.
To summarise, the mobile device of the future is Always connected (via satellite and edge, Intelligent by default (AI-native) and Immersively interactive (via AR/VR). And to stay relevant, the channel ecosystem must evolve from being resellers to experience enablers, helping businesses harness next-gen mobility as a platform for innovation, not just for communication.
