Apple likely to see best-ever sales in India

NEW DELHI: The latest iPhone 14 series, which was launched by the US-based tech giant Apple Inc on September 7, is on course to achieve its best-ever performance in its initial launch quarter in India, say industry experts. According to Cyber Media Research (CMR), iPhone 14 series shipments in India will rise by 50% over the previous generations.

 “With aggressive marketing and affordability initiatives during the upcoming festive season sales, Apple is on track to attain nearly 4% market share in the hyper-competitive smartphone market,” said Prabhu Ram, head of Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR. 

The US-based tech giant unveiled four phones in the iPhone 14 series that includes the iPhone 14  at a price of $799 (Rs 63,650), iPhone 14 Plus priced at $899 (Rs 71,610), iPhone 14 Pro priced at $999, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at $1,099. However, in India, customers will have to pay Rs 79,900 for iPhone 14 and v89,900 for iPhone 14 Plus.  

“I think iPhone 14 series will do well in India, along with iPhone 13,” said Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research. He further added that India is among the 20-plus countries in the world where the premiumisation trend has just started. Though the premium smartphone market (over $400 retail) is only 7% now in India of the total smartphone market, it is likely to hit 10% in 2023 and is growing much faster (+14%) than the overall smartphone market (7%). 

“Apple is likely to again exit India with its highest ever share and revenue... 4% share by volume and around 47% share in Premium segment ....and leading the premium segment for the third consecutive year in India,” said Pathak. 

As per the reports, Apple moved its production units out of China and it will produce iPhone 14 phones in India. “While Apple will benefit in terms of saving on duty, I doubt it will be passed on to the consumers,” said Faisal Kawoosa, founder and Chief Analyst at Techarc.