Apple slashes iPhone 5s price in India by almost half
Apple on Monday cut the price of the iPhone 5s in India down to 24,999 rupees ($372), a sharp reduction from the 44,500 rupees ($663) the device was selling for in September.
Today's cut actually marks the third time in three months Apple has adjusted prices, according to the Times of India. Apple's earlier cuts took place around the Hindu festivals of Dussehra and Diwali.
The 5s is said to represent almost half of iPhone sales in the country.
The latest cut is part of an Apple plan to double Indian sales during the December quarter, the Times' trade sources said. An executive at an unidentified local cellphone chain noted that by targeting the 16,000-27,000 rupee price band, Apple can gain leverage on Samsung's similarly-priced A- and E-series phones, which haven't been updated recently.
Until relatively recently Apple has struggled to gain marketshare in India, where the triple threat of high import taxes, a weak currency, and low wages compared to the West often prices iPhones out of people's hands. The iPhone 6s started at 62,000 rupees -- or about $955 -- when it launched in India this October, making it a full $306 more expensive than in the U.S.
The company's surge in India during the past year has ben attributed primarily to discounts, buybacks, and installment options, but also due to a wider reseller network. The iPhone is dwarfed however by devices from Samsung and Micromax, which are typically more affordable.
Today's cut actually marks the third time in three months Apple has adjusted prices, according to the Times of India. Apple's earlier cuts took place around the Hindu festivals of Dussehra and Diwali.
The 5s is said to represent almost half of iPhone sales in the country.
The latest cut is part of an Apple plan to double Indian sales during the December quarter, the Times' trade sources said. An executive at an unidentified local cellphone chain noted that by targeting the 16,000-27,000 rupee price band, Apple can gain leverage on Samsung's similarly-priced A- and E-series phones, which haven't been updated recently.
Until relatively recently Apple has struggled to gain marketshare in India, where the triple threat of high import taxes, a weak currency, and low wages compared to the West often prices iPhones out of people's hands. The iPhone 6s started at 62,000 rupees -- or about $955 -- when it launched in India this October, making it a full $306 more expensive than in the U.S.
The company's surge in India during the past year has ben attributed primarily to discounts, buybacks, and installment options, but also due to a wider reseller network. The iPhone is dwarfed however by devices from Samsung and Micromax, which are typically more affordable.
Comments
It'd be bigger news of the 6S was slashed.
This is big news as it gets the primary hooks into a major market where Apple hasn't played well to date, due to the byzantine phone franchise model. There are no '99 Rupee' iPhone deals in India. The fact that the 5s is 1/2 of current sales says that Apple can sell a lot more if they drop the price. And since Apple rarely discounts it's top end device, to compete with the Android 'high end' in India, the market has set the price.
India is probably the biggest untapped market (in terms of tech savvy, relatively high income people*)
The keys for Apple to win in any market is to exploit two critical things:
1) the stickiness of the apple ecosystem
2) Metcalfe's Law (The value of your (first) iPhone increase's proportional to the square of the number of people you interact with who have an iPhone)
I'm expecting a fair price for the iPhone 6s/+ say $300/$350. Similar for the 7 next year.
Maybe then, Apple will stop burning its money and do something useful with it (100 billion will buy you 10 Mars trips or all Africa's wild parks with an army to protect it from (ivory) poachers).
It tests a lower price point to see if volume sufficiently makes up for a lower price.
it clears the higher price slot for another model, which presumably would be the rumored updated 4" iPhone.
It doesn't really bother me, since it is the iPhone 5s that we are talking about afterall, which is some generations behind the newest one of course.
If you think that the iPhone 7 is going to cost $300-$350, then I can confidently say that your thought process is quite delusional and you will be a bit disappointed next year.
It's cheaper to buy a 5S in India than it is in Canada. Still sitting at $599 here. The 6S pricing scheme is bad here too. Could more than likely be attributed to the awful CDN dollar though.
yes I would agree, it is also a way to clear the channels out to bring in a new product. Cutting the price on a product you are going to EOL very soon down not hurt brand value. They can also begin selling the trade in phones and have an idea on what price people will buy.
Thinking more about it, if they'd decide to take a rocket load of Samsung phones with them to dump them there, that would actually be useful
But it would advertise the wrong product.
Still with a 5 times lower cost of living the phone should cost $150.
I might do that, but give Apple some time, they might turn around.
Consider that the original iPhone was also priced way too high.