High pricing is the sole reason for Apple’s lack of success in India, suggests a new report

At a time when reports have been emerging about the decline of iPhone sales worldwide, WSJ report solely blames Apple’s expensive pricing for brand’s struggle, particularly in the Indian market. India happens to be the second-largest smartphone market, following China.

Not just that, India is also the largest untapped market for the majority of smartphone makers around the world to establish their presence outside their home turf. By joining the government’s Make in India initiative, smartphone brands have established their manufacturing units in India, significantly reducing their costs.

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Apple has always maintained its focus on the premium smartphones segment, which is highly dominated by affordable alternatives like OnePlus 6T.

WSJ report highlights a tremendous opportunity for smartphone brands in India. This year alone saw almost 40 million first-time smartphone users. However, close to 95 per cent devices sold in India in this year cost below $500 (roughly Rs 35,500), which gives a very little room for Apple to sell iPhone in India.

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A few months ago, we saw a report about how Apple sales in India continue to take a hit as customers seem to opt for Chinese counterparts in India over iPhone.

As we noted back then, one of the main reasons why people turn their back on iPhones is the ever increasing cost of the device. However, its competitors in India are able to sell their feature-packed devices for far less.

Commenting on Apple’s declining sales in India, Pavel Naiya, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research, had this to say:

“Smartphone users in India do not stay with one particular phone for so long, unlike in the US and Europen markets. Due to a wide variety of options and competitive pricing, customers end up buying phones from Chinese brands like OnePlus and Xiaomi. It affects iPhones sales in the country as iPhone customers do not upgrade to a newer model as fast as Xiaomi or OnePlus users do.”