Apple has been able to break the market expectations, and reported a decent 6% increase in sales of iPhones in India.
Buoyed by this success, Apple has now announced that production of low cost, cheap iPhones will begin from next month, in India.
Can it create a new category of smartphones, which will be placed between premium and sub-premium brands?
Lots of questions!
Mass Production Of iPhones in India Will Start
Apple has decided to assemble and sell cheap iPhones in India, and the production will begin from February onwards.
This new range of smartphones from Apple camp will be very similar to iPhone 8, which came in 2017, and as per the data available, such low cost iPhones will be first from Apple since iPhone SE came in 2016.
As per reports, this yet to be named model will feature 4.7 inch screen.
Price of this cheap iPhone we don’t know yet, but here are some numbers: iPhone 8 is still being sold at Rs 36,999, and iPhone SE, when it was launched, was priced at Rs 28,000.
Hence, this new series of cheap iPhones is expected between Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 max.
Some reports claim that Apple won’t include in-display sensors in the display, but rather use TouchID based home button. The good news is that, Apple may use A13 Bionic processor for this new series, which is the same processor which is used in iPhone 11.
More details are awaited, as Apple has refused to officially make a statement on this development.
iPhone Sales Increase by 6% In India
Meanwhile, as per CounterPoint’s latest research, it has been revealed that Apple has been able to increase their sale of iPhones in India, by 6%.
This is a massive improvement, since in 2018, they reported 43% decline in sales of iPhones in India.
Some researchers are stating that discounting the price of iPhone XR by $250 right before the festive season may have done the trick.
Having said that, overall share of Apple’s iPhones in India is still very minuscule: Out of 158 million smartphones shipped in India, iPhone’s share has been a paltry 2%.
The growth of premium smartphones in India is pegged at 20%, and this is the niche which Apple is striving hard to conquer.
Oneplus and Samsung, the reigning players of this segment, need to buckle up now.
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.