Apple highlights iPhone 6s 'made in India' in new marketing campaign

Posted:
in iPhone
Apple is promoting its production of a number of iPhone models in India, with the start of a new marketing campaign for the iPhone 6S in the region sold with the tagline "Now made in India," in reference to the government's initiative to encourage local manufacturing.




A market that Apple is finding hard to penetrate but is continuing to work on, India has been an unusual country of interest for the company, as it specifically started assembly of some iPhone models in the country specifically for the local market. A new round of advertising suggests Apple is now starting to lean on local production to try and encourage more sales.

An advertisement for the "incredible iPhone 6s" found by Varun Krishnan markets the model advising it is "Now made in India." As part of the same ad copy, potential customers are advised of cashback on HDFC Bank debit and credit cards, presumably if used to purchase the model.

Just saw this ad , Apple is explicitly promoting made in India pic.twitter.com/OpjClRJAhs

-- Varun Krishnan (@varunkrish)


The reference to "Made in India" is likely to be on purpose, as it is the name of the Indian government's initiative to try and pressure companies into producing products locally, instead of relying on imports.

Using manufacturing partner Wistron, Apple has produced the iPhone 6S in India since 2018 and the iPhone SE since 2017, and has expanded to include the iPhone 7 for local sale. Current plans include tapping Foxconn for a trial run of production for the iPhone X, which may be a precursor to manufacturing the 2019 iPhones in the market.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    supadav03supadav03 Posts: 503member
    So what’s that, like $380 US? Doesn’t seem like a bad deal to me. That’s about $100 less than a base iPhone 7 refurbished from Apple. Hopefully it’s helps make some progress in India. 
    chiachasm
  • Reply 2 of 14
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    Leaving aside the issue of some amount of local pride, I am not sure that "Made in India" is a great selling point for Indian consumers...
    chasm
  • Reply 3 of 14
    mbgold1mbgold1 Posts: 9member
    It isn't a question of pride.  Its a question of access.  The Indian government is leveraging access to its markets, and apparently quite successfully. 
    chia
  • Reply 4 of 14
    MisterKitMisterKit Posts: 492member
    6s is a great phone. If mine were to fail I would be fine with having another to replace it here in the US.
    chiachasm
  • Reply 5 of 14
    knowitallknowitall Posts: 1,648member
    €341 thats more like it.
    Import to Europe asap.
  • Reply 6 of 14
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,100member
    MisterKit said:
    6s is a great phone. If mine were to fail I would be fine with having another to replace it here in the US.
    Yes but the 6 series were the most homely iphones ever designed.
    JWSC
  • Reply 7 of 14
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    A bit off topic, but what the heck. Was watching a doc on Independent Lens (PBS) called “The People’s Republic of Desire.” A fascinating look at a phenomenon of popular culture in China where online “hosts” basically beg for “gifts” (money) from both everyday impoverished fans and high rolling sugar daddies. There are even “syndicates” (leagues) of hosts controlled by owners. I noticed that all of the successful hosts, high rollers, and owners used iPhones. One even took pains to note that hers was not a fake. Clearly, the iPhone continues to be an aspirational device even in the land of abundant and worthy competitors. 
  • Reply 8 of 14
    ksecksec Posts: 1,569member
    That is $380 inc. VAT, which is about 18%, without VAT, it would be about $320. I guess this is roughly inline if iPhone 6s were still in the market. As it should be $100 less than the iPhone 7 which is $449 ( if I remember correctly ). 

    There is also a 10% cash back deal with certain credit card and debit card. That brings this down to $288. Pretty damn good if you ask me.

    I wonder if iPhone 7 will be this price in India once 2019 iPhone comes. I think the iPhone 7 is a pretty damn good phone for this $320. For those who are still new to Smartphone or jumping from other Android. 
    edited May 2019 racerhomie3
  • Reply 9 of 14
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,275member
    This is very smart marketing. While I have had to have my battery replaced by Apple, my 6s keeps ticking along even though I now also have an iPhone 8 for work. It’s a great phone and I’m very likely to hand it down when I’m done with it! Since it will likely run iOS 13, why not let a friend or family member get another couple of years out of it?
    MisterKit
  • Reply 10 of 14
    JWSCJWSC Posts: 1,203member
    tyler82 said:
    MisterKit said:
    6s is a great phone. If mine were to fail I would be fine with having another to replace it here in the US.
    Yes but the 6 series were the most homely iphones ever designed.
    Yea I kind of have to agree.  iPhone SE forever!
  • Reply 11 of 14
    tonyp385tonyp385 Posts: 6member
    6s phone is 3 years old generation phone.  Even if the price is cheap. How many future ios generations will it be able to upgrade to.  If it is only upgradeable to ios 13 and not at least up to 15 then it is a useless phone at a useless price.  With more people using apps and as the generation of ios evolve and the apps get upgraded people will need to be able to use a up to date ios phone.  Not using a old item.  So before you buy ask apple company or rep for how many generations of ios is this good for.  If they cannot let you know then pass on this phone.  
  • Reply 12 of 14
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,100member
    JWSC said:
    tyler82 said:
    MisterKit said:
    6s is a great phone. If mine were to fail I would be fine with having another to replace it here in the US.
    Yes but the 6 series were the most homely iphones ever designed.
    Yea I kind of have to agree.  iPhone SE forever!
    I recently bought an SE. I had a 4s, 5s, and 7 plus. SE/ 5s is the best designed iphone hands down!
  • Reply 13 of 14
    tipootipoo Posts: 1,141member
    If this trade war shows no sign of an end any time soon, I wonder if Apple would move more iPhone production to India, not just for the Indian market. 

    I'd prefer it to China really, while labor cost would still be low. 
  • Reply 14 of 14
    tipoo said:
    If this trade war shows no sign of an end any time soon, I wonder if Apple would move more iPhone production to India, not just for the Indian market. 

    I'd prefer it to China really, while labor cost would still be low. 

    I don't think it would be that easy. Remember - iPhones are only ASSEMBLED in India, not manufactured. We (yes, I am from India) don't have the manufacturing infrastructure necessary for the level that Apple needs YET. While labor costs in India would be even lower than China, the key challenge is going to be infrastructure which locks Apple into China for at least few years, if not more.
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