Apple ships 2.5M iPhones in India during 2016, boosted by iPhone 7 release
Apple shipped 2.5 million iPhones in India during the whole of 2016 -- a third of those in the fourth quarter, when the iPhone 7 launched in the country, according to Counterpoint research data released this week.
While that was a record for Apple, in the fourth quarter the company claimed just 10th place in the Indian smartphone market, Counterpoint noted. The top brands during the period were Samsung at 24 percent, Vivo at 10 percent, and Xiaomi and Lenovo, tied at 9 percent.
In fact Chinese brands like Vivo, Xiaomi, and Lenovo pulled a major upset, leaping to a combined 46 percent share of the Indian market from 14 percent a year ago. That also marks a departure from 2016 overall, when Indian brands Micromax (11 percent), Intex (7 percent), and Reliance Jio (6 percent) were all in the top five, even if Samsung was still in control with a 25 percent share.
In Q4 Apple did capture 62 percent of "premium" smartphone shipments, defined as devices costing $450 or more.
Apple has struggled to make much progress in the Indian phone market, precisely because most of its phones are too expensive for the average shopper. The company has even resorted to selling models considered obsolete in other markets.
The situation could improve in the near future if Apple manages to secure local iPhone manufacturing. Building iPhones natively would let the company avoid import fees, in turn making it possible to lower prices without cutting into high profits.
On Wednesday, a team met with government officials about the issue in what Apple described as "constructive and open dialogue." The company is believed to have a "wish list" of concessions, which could include major breaks on import taxes and duties. A government source claimed that manufacturing is "almost a done deal," and that many of Apple's demands are "workable."
Wistron, said to be Apple's first official Indian manufacturer, could be put to work on 2017 iPhone models.
While that was a record for Apple, in the fourth quarter the company claimed just 10th place in the Indian smartphone market, Counterpoint noted. The top brands during the period were Samsung at 24 percent, Vivo at 10 percent, and Xiaomi and Lenovo, tied at 9 percent.
In fact Chinese brands like Vivo, Xiaomi, and Lenovo pulled a major upset, leaping to a combined 46 percent share of the Indian market from 14 percent a year ago. That also marks a departure from 2016 overall, when Indian brands Micromax (11 percent), Intex (7 percent), and Reliance Jio (6 percent) were all in the top five, even if Samsung was still in control with a 25 percent share.
In Q4 Apple did capture 62 percent of "premium" smartphone shipments, defined as devices costing $450 or more.
Apple has struggled to make much progress in the Indian phone market, precisely because most of its phones are too expensive for the average shopper. The company has even resorted to selling models considered obsolete in other markets.
The situation could improve in the near future if Apple manages to secure local iPhone manufacturing. Building iPhones natively would let the company avoid import fees, in turn making it possible to lower prices without cutting into high profits.
On Wednesday, a team met with government officials about the issue in what Apple described as "constructive and open dialogue." The company is believed to have a "wish list" of concessions, which could include major breaks on import taxes and duties. A government source claimed that manufacturing is "almost a done deal," and that many of Apple's demands are "workable."
Wistron, said to be Apple's first official Indian manufacturer, could be put to work on 2017 iPhone models.
Comments
That sentence, folks, is all that matters.
Totally agree. Not to mention any attempt to have lower pricing for any given country for whatever reason would result in high volumes being purchased and resold on the black market elsewhere. Talking of Rolex, I was amazed to read Apple's Watch is second only to Rolex in profitability, not bad for a 'failed' product, in what a couple of years from a standing start?
Why is Tim not coming here to negotiate too? They are not cheap here as well.
Probably because our population is about of Delhi :-)
1. Growth potential (with admitted price obstacles)
2. Potential market to resell used phones (with admitted regulatory obstacles)
3. Leverage against China for manufacturing options
There are 213 billionaires in China.
In India, a country with a population just shy of China's, there are only 84 billionaires.
This simply demonstrates a level of economic opportunity that is far, far lower than China and it is India's politics and poverty (caused by their politics) which illustrates they may never be a large market for Apple.
*2015 data: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_the_number_of_US_dollar_billionaires
New Era.
I have a client with nearly 80 Macs (desktops and laptops) in daily use for his office. He has a mere three to four Windows machines and hates them with a passion. Nearly all major media production houses in India use Macs in a very big way. The opportunity is so large and the market so under-served that I am seriously considering adding an Enterprise Mac services practice to our company (we are into managed IT services).
Coming to the recent iPhone products, there has been a massive print media campaign over the last month where Apple resellers in India have been offering the latest iPhone, iPads and Macbook Pros at hefty discounts and cashbacks through tie-ups with major credit card issuing banks. These offers have high uptake and make Apple products more affordable even for the slightly affluent section among the middle class.
Bottom line: Apple has a great future in India and having a factory here will probably become a tipping point towards a much wider adoption of all Apple products down the line and not just iPhones.