Apple's iPhone 11 captures 68% of India's 'ultra-premium' smartphone market

Posted:
in iPhone
While Apple has yet to make substantial inroads into India's mainstream smartphone market, the tech giant's latest flagship iPhones continue to dominate top-tier category sales.

iPhone 11


New statistics shared by IDC on Friday show Apple accounted for 62.7% of India's $500-and-up smartphone segment in the first quarter of 2020, besting competitors Samsung and OnePlus.

Further, iPhone 11 took a 68% share of shipments in the $700 to over-$1000 segment over the three-month period. The strong showing helped the category double year-over-year, IDC estimates.

Overall, India's smartphone market grew 1.5% year-over-year on 32.5 million units shipped. Xiaomi, vivo, Samsung, realme and Oppo were the quarter's top-five vendors, respectively.

Today's data lines up with figures issued by Counterpoint Research in April. At the time, the company estimated 4% year-on-year growth in India for the first quarter and also noted strong iPhone 11 sales on the back of discounts from Flipkart, Amazon and other resellers.

It should be noted that market research firms like IDC have questionable track records when it comes to estimating Apple unit sales. Apple executives, including CEO Tim Cook, have in the past rebutted quarterly forecasts, implying they are largely inaccurate.

With Apple no longer reporting individual unit sales, however, industry watchers have little choice but to work with information offered by independent research analysts.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 22
    dedgeckodedgecko Posts: 169member
    Thank you for including statements denoting how piss poor IDC and their ilk are.
    edited May 2020 chasmBeatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 22
    KITAKITA Posts: 392member
    Okay, but in India a flagship OnePlus 8 that launched in Q2 2020 is only Rs 41,999 ($556 USD) and an iPhone SE is Rs 42,499 ($562 USD). So it's not much of a surprise when other flagships aren't even in that price bracket.
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 3 of 22
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Makes sense.

    Apple is the best, so people with lots of money will naturally choose Apple.

    I still think that Android is mostly for poor people and third world people. There are a few exceptions of course, but I believe that the average Android user using the average Android phone is not using the top models or the very expensive models, they're very budget conscious and/or broke.
    chasmwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 22
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,274member
    The premium bracket is the only market that Apple cares about or plays in, because it’s the only sustainable and profitable part of the market. Those who dream of the iPhone being number one in countries where incomes don’t compare to the US/Europe are chasing a fantasy that’ll never happen. It is the company whose products people aspire to, but only those discerning minority who care about value and style over base price routinely achieve.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 22
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Who the hell buys "ultra premium" knockoffs? Stupidity knows no boundaries.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 22
    XedXed Posts: 2,519member
    KITA said:
    Okay, but in India a flagship OnePlus 8 that launched in Q2 2020 is only Rs 41,999 ($556 USD) and an iPhone SE is Rs 42,499 ($562 USD). So it's not much of a surprise when other flagships aren't even in that price bracket.
    What exactly is your point about the ultra-premium market segment?
  • Reply 7 of 22
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    With Apple no longer reporting individual unit sales, however, industry watchers have little choice but to work with information offered by independent research analysts.

    They do have a choice: they can work for a living, like the rest of us.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 22
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,624member
    Beats said:
    Who the hell buys "ultra premium" knockoffs? Stupidity knows no boundaries.
    In a word: millions. 

    As for these numers, you really should read the article! 

    If Apple took 68%, the rest obviously went somewhere else.

    If you went one step further and understood the article it would help your case. These are results from just one quarter!


    edited May 2020 muthuk_vanalingamanantksundaram
  • Reply 9 of 22
    Xed said:
    KITA said:
    Okay, but in India a flagship OnePlus 8 that launched in Q2 2020 is only Rs 41,999 ($556 USD) and an iPhone SE is Rs 42,499 ($562 USD). So it's not much of a surprise when other flagships aren't even in that price bracket.
    What exactly is your point about the ultra-premium market segment?

    The point is - the line is drawn "arbitrarily" to make Apple's position in India "look" better. It is just pure optics and NOTHING else in the context of smartphone market in India. Despite this, we have people like lkrupp, who keep complaining that Apple get ONLY negative press day in, day out.
    avon b7
  • Reply 10 of 22
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    This is not a surprise. 

    Except to low-info folks. 
  • Reply 11 of 22
    spice-boyspice-boy Posts: 1,450member
    Apple won't admit publicly by but they are bracing for steep declines in sales the way all luxury and non-essential products will. 
    If I were to lose or destroy my Xs I would replace it with a much less expensive phone now otherwise I have no intention of buying a new model in the coming years. The same applies to my iMac (2019) and iPad 2019. 
  • Reply 12 of 22
    XedXed Posts: 2,519member
    Xed said:
    KITA said:
    Okay, but in India a flagship OnePlus 8 that launched in Q2 2020 is only Rs 41,999 ($556 USD) and an iPhone SE is Rs 42,499 ($562 USD). So it's not much of a surprise when other flagships aren't even in that price bracket.
    What exactly is your point about the ultra-premium market segment?

    The point is - the line is drawn "arbitrarily" to make Apple's position in India "look" better. It is just pure optics and NOTHING else in the context of smartphone market in India. Despite this, we have people like lkrupp, who keep complaining that Apple get ONLY negative press day in, day out.
    Is it drawn arbitrarily or drawn purposely to make Apple’s position look better? It can’t be both.

    If you fee there are better demarcation points based on price and device options for the Indian smartphone market I’m sure we’re all open to see them, but $500 and up for luxury and $700 and up for ultra-luxury sounds pretty reasonable to me.

    What’s the alternative? We remove these terms and just look at the smartphone market as a whole? Is it really fair to look at $50 smartphones with the same “optics” as $1200 smartphone? Are they really the same buyer to you?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 22
    XedXed Posts: 2,519member
    spice-boy said:
    Apple won't admit publicly by but they are bracing for steep declines in sales the way all luxury and non-essential products will. 
    If I were to lose or destroy my Xs I would replace it with a much less expensive phone now otherwise I have no intention of buying a new model in the coming years. The same applies to my iMac (2019) and iPad 2019. 
    I see your point and know that I’d probably not replace my Watch right now and may get a used iPhone (or maybe not even iPhone at all as a stand in) if it were to break while in quarantine, but I do think Apple is going to be fine. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 22
    gmgravytraingmgravytrain Posts: 882member
    So, in actual unit numbers that's something like 1000 units. Now Apple has added about .002% market share percentage with a total market share percentage of 2.2% in India. Apple is really killing it. The analysts will soon be praising Apple for barely scratching the Indian smartphone market. Apple is making some slight headway in India, but it's barely worth mentioning. Yes, Apple is only interested in gaining a tiny segment of market share in India and if they succeed, good for them. The news media will continue to tell about how Apple is being slaughtered in India by Android's 97.8% market share. Tim Cook will say how everything is going to plan and how it's better to have some market share than none at all.
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 15 of 22
    Xed said:
    Xed said:
    KITA said:
    Okay, but in India a flagship OnePlus 8 that launched in Q2 2020 is only Rs 41,999 ($556 USD) and an iPhone SE is Rs 42,499 ($562 USD). So it's not much of a surprise when other flagships aren't even in that price bracket.
    What exactly is your point about the ultra-premium market segment?

    The point is - the line is drawn "arbitrarily" to make Apple's position in India "look" better. It is just pure optics and NOTHING else in the context of smartphone market in India. Despite this, we have people like lkrupp, who keep complaining that Apple get ONLY negative press day in, day out.
    Is it drawn arbitrarily or drawn purposely to make Apple’s position look better? It can’t be both.

    If you fee there are better demarcation points based on price and device options for the Indian smartphone market I’m sure we’re all open to see them, but $500 and up for luxury and $700 and up for ultra-luxury sounds pretty reasonable to me.

    What’s the alternative? We remove these terms and just look at the smartphone market as a whole? Is it really fair to look at $50 smartphones with the same “optics” as $1200 smartphone? Are they really the same buyer to you?
    Well, in the context of Indian smartphone market, anything above Rs. 30,000 ($400) is a premium phone. And OnePlus is THE leader in this segment for last couple of years. And IDC definitely has this data as well. In order to make Apple look good, the line is drawn just above the best selling OnePlus phones price point.
    avon b7
  • Reply 16 of 22
    XedXed Posts: 2,519member
    Xed said:
    Xed said:
    KITA said:
    Okay, but in India a flagship OnePlus 8 that launched in Q2 2020 is only Rs 41,999 ($556 USD) and an iPhone SE is Rs 42,499 ($562 USD). So it's not much of a surprise when other flagships aren't even in that price bracket.
    What exactly is your point about the ultra-premium market segment?

    The point is - the line is drawn "arbitrarily" to make Apple's position in India "look" better. It is just pure optics and NOTHING else in the context of smartphone market in India. Despite this, we have people like lkrupp, who keep complaining that Apple get ONLY negative press day in, day out.
    Is it drawn arbitrarily or drawn purposely to make Apple’s position look better? It can’t be both.

    If you fee there are better demarcation points based on price and device options for the Indian smartphone market I’m sure we’re all open to see them, but $500 and up for luxury and $700 and up for ultra-luxury sounds pretty reasonable to me.

    What’s the alternative? We remove these terms and just look at the smartphone market as a whole? Is it really fair to look at $50 smartphones with the same “optics” as $1200 smartphone? Are they really the same buyer to you?
    Well, in the context of Indian smartphone market, anything above Rs. 30,000 ($400) is a premium phone. And OnePlus is THE leader in this segment for last couple of years. And IDC definitely has this data as well. In order to make Apple look good, the line is drawn just above the best selling OnePlus phones price point.
    Using your previous comment about how shittyApple's sales are in India because “97.8%” of the total smartphone market is Android, how much of the total smartphone market is the $400 OnePlus? Are they not shit since the sales of the OnePlus would be an even smaller percentage of total smartphone sales?
    edited May 2020 watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 22
    KITAKITA Posts: 392member
    Xed said:
    Xed said:
    KITA said:
    Okay, but in India a flagship OnePlus 8 that launched in Q2 2020 is only Rs 41,999 ($556 USD) and an iPhone SE is Rs 42,499 ($562 USD). So it's not much of a surprise when other flagships aren't even in that price bracket.
    What exactly is your point about the ultra-premium market segment?

    The point is - the line is drawn "arbitrarily" to make Apple's position in India "look" better. It is just pure optics and NOTHING else in the context of smartphone market in India. Despite this, we have people like lkrupp, who keep complaining that Apple get ONLY negative press day in, day out.
    Is it drawn arbitrarily or drawn purposely to make Apple’s position look better? It can’t be both.

    If you fee there are better demarcation points based on price and device options for the Indian smartphone market I’m sure we’re all open to see them, but $500 and up for luxury and $700 and up for ultra-luxury sounds pretty reasonable to me.

    What’s the alternative? We remove these terms and just look at the smartphone market as a whole? Is it really fair to look at $50 smartphones with the same “optics” as $1200 smartphone? Are they really the same buyer to you?
    Well, in the context of Indian smartphone market, anything above Rs. 30,000 ($400) is a premium phone. And OnePlus is THE leader in this segment for last couple of years. And IDC definitely has this data as well. In order to make Apple look good, the line is drawn just above the best selling OnePlus phones price point.
    It's kind of like if a headline was posted saying:

    "Samsung's Galaxy Fold captures 98% of USA's 'super-ultra-premium' smartphone market"

    "Galaxy Fold accounted for 98% of the shipments in the $1800 to over-$2500 segment over the three month period"  
    muthuk_vanalingamavon b7watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 22
    Xed said:
    Xed said:
    Xed said:
    KITA said:
    Okay, but in India a flagship OnePlus 8 that launched in Q2 2020 is only Rs 41,999 ($556 USD) and an iPhone SE is Rs 42,499 ($562 USD). So it's not much of a surprise when other flagships aren't even in that price bracket.
    What exactly is your point about the ultra-premium market segment?

    The point is - the line is drawn "arbitrarily" to make Apple's position in India "look" better. It is just pure optics and NOTHING else in the context of smartphone market in India. Despite this, we have people like lkrupp, who keep complaining that Apple get ONLY negative press day in, day out.
    Is it drawn arbitrarily or drawn purposely to make Apple’s position look better? It can’t be both.

    If you fee there are better demarcation points based on price and device options for the Indian smartphone market I’m sure we’re all open to see them, but $500 and up for luxury and $700 and up for ultra-luxury sounds pretty reasonable to me.

    What’s the alternative? We remove these terms and just look at the smartphone market as a whole? Is it really fair to look at $50 smartphones with the same “optics” as $1200 smartphone? Are they really the same buyer to you?
    Well, in the context of Indian smartphone market, anything above Rs. 30,000 ($400) is a premium phone. And OnePlus is THE leader in this segment for last couple of years. And IDC definitely has this data as well. In order to make Apple look good, the line is drawn just above the best selling OnePlus phones price point.
    Using your previous comment about how shittyApple's sales are in India because “97.8%” of the total smartphone market is Android, how much of the total smartphone market is the $400 OnePlus? Are they not shit since the sales of the OnePlus would be an even smaller percentage of total smartphone sales?


    Well, don't you think OnePlus (an underdog in the grand scheme of things) doing "BETTER" than Apple is an achievement in itself, considering that they are selling "premium" phones ONLY like Apple???? And OnePlus is NOT an independent brand. They are a sub-brand of BBK electronics. BBK has about 45%+ share in smartphone sales in India (not bad, right?).


    Few more meaningful numbers for you to chew, from the IDC report in the context of smartphone market in India:

    1. Total smartphones shipped in India in Q1 2020 - 32.5 million

    2. Percentage of smartphones shipped with price > $300 - 5.6% (1.82 million)

    3. Percentage of smartphone shipped with price > $500 - 1.8% (585,000)

    4. Apple's share of smartphones shipped with price > $500 - 62.7% (366,795).


    Just read those numbers and come to your own conclusion on Apple's GREAT achievement that the title of this article is boasting about.


    There are lies, damn lies and statistics.

    edited May 2020 avon b7KITA
  • Reply 19 of 22
    KITAKITA Posts: 392member
    Xed said:
    Xed said:
    Xed said:
    KITA said:
    Okay, but in India a flagship OnePlus 8 that launched in Q2 2020 is only Rs 41,999 ($556 USD) and an iPhone SE is Rs 42,499 ($562 USD). So it's not much of a surprise when other flagships aren't even in that price bracket.
    What exactly is your point about the ultra-premium market segment?

    The point is - the line is drawn "arbitrarily" to make Apple's position in India "look" better. It is just pure optics and NOTHING else in the context of smartphone market in India. Despite this, we have people like lkrupp, who keep complaining that Apple get ONLY negative press day in, day out.
    Is it drawn arbitrarily or drawn purposely to make Apple’s position look better? It can’t be both.

    If you fee there are better demarcation points based on price and device options for the Indian smartphone market I’m sure we’re all open to see them, but $500 and up for luxury and $700 and up for ultra-luxury sounds pretty reasonable to me.

    What’s the alternative? We remove these terms and just look at the smartphone market as a whole? Is it really fair to look at $50 smartphones with the same “optics” as $1200 smartphone? Are they really the same buyer to you?
    Well, in the context of Indian smartphone market, anything above Rs. 30,000 ($400) is a premium phone. And OnePlus is THE leader in this segment for last couple of years. And IDC definitely has this data as well. In order to make Apple look good, the line is drawn just above the best selling OnePlus phones price point.
    Using your previous comment about how shittyApple's sales are in India because “97.8%” of the total smartphone market is Android, how much of the total smartphone market is the $400 OnePlus? Are they not shit since the sales of the OnePlus would be an even smaller percentage of total smartphone sales?


    Well, don't you think OnePlus (an underdog in the grand scheme of things) doing "BETTER" than Apple is an achievement in itself, considering that they are selling "premium" phones ONLY like Apple???? And OnePlus is NOT an independent brand. They are a sub-brand of BBK electronics. BBK has about 45%+ share in smartphone sales in India (not bad, right?).


    Few more meaningful numbers for you to chew, from the IDC report in the context of smartphone market in India:

    1. Total smartphones shipped in India in Q1 2020 - 32.5 million

    2. Percentage of smartphones shipped with price > $300 - 5.6% (1.82 million)

    3. Percentage of smartphone shipped with price > $500 - 1.8% (585,000)

    4. Apple's share of smartphones shipped with price > $500 - 62.7% (366,795).


    Just read those numbers and come to your own conclusion on Apple's GREAT achievement that the title of this article is boasting about.


    There are lies, damn lies and statistics.

    Even the OnePlus 7T, their flagship in Q1 2020, was only in the $300 to $500 category. With the launch of the OnePlus 8 in the $500+ segment in Q2 2020, I wouldn't be surprised if Apple's percentage fell further this quarter (for whatever that's even worth).
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 20 of 22
    KITA said:
    Xed said:
    Xed said:
    Xed said:
    KITA said:
    Okay, but in India a flagship OnePlus 8 that launched in Q2 2020 is only Rs 41,999 ($556 USD) and an iPhone SE is Rs 42,499 ($562 USD). So it's not much of a surprise when other flagships aren't even in that price bracket.
    What exactly is your point about the ultra-premium market segment?

    The point is - the line is drawn "arbitrarily" to make Apple's position in India "look" better. It is just pure optics and NOTHING else in the context of smartphone market in India. Despite this, we have people like lkrupp, who keep complaining that Apple get ONLY negative press day in, day out.
    Is it drawn arbitrarily or drawn purposely to make Apple’s position look better? It can’t be both.

    If you fee there are better demarcation points based on price and device options for the Indian smartphone market I’m sure we’re all open to see them, but $500 and up for luxury and $700 and up for ultra-luxury sounds pretty reasonable to me.

    What’s the alternative? We remove these terms and just look at the smartphone market as a whole? Is it really fair to look at $50 smartphones with the same “optics” as $1200 smartphone? Are they really the same buyer to you?
    Well, in the context of Indian smartphone market, anything above Rs. 30,000 ($400) is a premium phone. And OnePlus is THE leader in this segment for last couple of years. And IDC definitely has this data as well. In order to make Apple look good, the line is drawn just above the best selling OnePlus phones price point.
    Using your previous comment about how shittyApple's sales are in India because “97.8%” of the total smartphone market is Android, how much of the total smartphone market is the $400 OnePlus? Are they not shit since the sales of the OnePlus would be an even smaller percentage of total smartphone sales?


    Well, don't you think OnePlus (an underdog in the grand scheme of things) doing "BETTER" than Apple is an achievement in itself, considering that they are selling "premium" phones ONLY like Apple???? And OnePlus is NOT an independent brand. They are a sub-brand of BBK electronics. BBK has about 45%+ share in smartphone sales in India (not bad, right?).


    Few more meaningful numbers for you to chew, from the IDC report in the context of smartphone market in India:

    1. Total smartphones shipped in India in Q1 2020 - 32.5 million

    2. Percentage of smartphones shipped with price > $300 - 5.6% (1.82 million)

    3. Percentage of smartphone shipped with price > $500 - 1.8% (585,000)

    4. Apple's share of smartphones shipped with price > $500 - 62.7% (366,795).


    Just read those numbers and come to your own conclusion on Apple's GREAT achievement that the title of this article is boasting about.


    There are lies, damn lies and statistics.

    Even the OnePlus 7T, their flagship in Q1 2020, was only in the $300 to $500 category. With the launch of the OnePlus 8 in the $500+ segment in Q2 2020, I wouldn't be surprised if Apple's percentage fell further this quarter (for whatever that's even worth).
    Agreed. Then the line would be drawn above $600 to exclude the OnePlus 8, so that the same conclusion can be arrived.

    Edit: on thinking through this further, it wouldn't help Apple much, with Apple's best selling iPhone SE 2020 in the same price range. Q3 numbers would be much more interesting, for whatever it is worth, especially on how it is spun to make Apple "look" good. 
    edited May 2020
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