Apple is showing signs of progress in the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market with its strongest-ever quarterly showing in India.
The Cupertino-based tech giant recorded sales of 2.3 million units in Q4, 34% higher than a year earlier, Counterpoint Research reported. China’s Xiaomi and South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics were still the market leaders in the country with sales of 9.3 million and 7.2 million units, respectively.
Apple, however, may have pulled in more revenue because of the iPhone’s price tag, Counterpoint calculated. The US company’s quarterly revenue was estimated at $2.09 billion, edging Samsung with $2 billion.
“It’s a turning point for Apple in India,” Bloomberg quoted Neil Shah, partner and research head at Counterpoint Technology Market Research, as saying.
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“Indians were willing to lavish money on premium phones during the pandemic because everyone’s lives revolved around their devices and there was nothing else to spend on.”
Apple, despite being the world’s most valuable company on the back of its iPhone, has struggled to get a toehold in the 1.3 billion-strong India market. The iPhone’s price tag is beyond many local consumers. The situation is further aggravated by the stiff import tariffs Apple pays on devices made outside India.
In 2018, Apple endured multiple top-level executive departures, sliding sales and protests by retail partners against its online discounts.
Since then, Apple has turned its strategy around — opening an India online store, streamlining discounts, and beginning local manufacturing. It plans to open company-owned retail outlets in multiple cities in the next few quarters.
Apple still faces a tough task in India where the per-capita income was below $2,000 in 2020, as per World Bank data.
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The tech giant has so far resisted bringing cheaper devices for the local market, a common strategy used by foreign brands. While its market share has inched higher, it remains at just around 5% for the quarter. Smartphone makers shipped 44 million units during the quarter.
It has other challenges to contend with as well. Manufacturing partners Foxconn Technology Group and Wistron Corp have faced protests because of their treatment of workers. Apple even placed a Foxconn factory near Chennai on probation following protests over food safety and accommodation standards.
In addition, the Competition Commission of India has begun a probe into App Store fees, further compounding Apple’s problems.
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