Apple has been slowly and gradually sliding down the mobile handset market share in India and a lot of factors are playing a key role in this downfall. Counterpoint Research based in Hong Kong says that iPhone sales are falling drastically. From 3 million phones in 2017, it may sink to 2 million this year.
The Scenario In India
In a country where the average per capita income is Rs 1.44 lakhs per annum, the cheapest iPhone stands at Rs 76,900, making it practically out of reach for many. Also with companies like One Plus bringing in full-featured phones with advanced technologies at almost half the prices are adding to the chaos. People who compare intelligently feel that they can buy at least 3 good smartphones in the price of one iPhone or buy a smartphone and a decent laptop at the same price.
But is there more to Apple than its heavy premium pricing?
High import duties
Apple’s problems are beyond its price. Apple is one of the only major players that does not manufacture handsets in India. It only assembles two lost cost models in Bengaluru and rest about 70%-80% of handsets are imported which result in heavy import duties and hence a heavier price.
In the US, the iPhones are subsidized under various deals with wireless carriers while in India they aren’t. Also in the US the base model of iPhone, the XR costs only about $749 or Rs 54,400 which is two-thirds of its price in India.
Expert Speak
“Apple doesn’t have enough confidence … in the Indian manufacturing system right now, to set up plants and move some of the manufacturing out of China,” said analyst Navkendar Singh of tech consulting firm IDC.
“In the process, they are losing around 15-20 percent of their tax incentive, which they could have passed on to the consumer.”
The Competition
The new emerging phones are giving iPhones a run for their money as they have almost similar features and some of them even look alike from a distance. The recent sales of some of these competing brands have seen a 10-15% apple deferred user base including those who have been loyal with the brand since years.
Apple will soon need to figure out a way to control this decline to avoid further damage to the business.
