“Software engineer Samee Alam was ready to take the big leap and buy an iPhone in this week’s Diwali festival sales, but at the last minute he opted for cheaper Chinese competitor OnePlus instead,” Reuters reports.
MacDailyNews Take: His loss.
“In a country where the average per capita income is around $2,000 a year, even the cheapest of this year’s new iPhones, the XR at 76,900 rupees ($1,058), costs twice as much as many of the alternatives,” Reuters reports. “Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research says that iPhone sales are falling as a result. From three million phones in 2017, sales may sink to two million this year, according to their estimate, the first decline in four years.”
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has sought to drive electronics producers into manufacturing locally by steadily moving tariffs up the supply chain from simple phone cases to sophisticated chipsets and boards,” Reuters reports. “Apple is the only major player which does not manufacture phones in the country and it only assembles two low-cost older models through Wistron Corp in Bengaluru. Industry experts say as a result the company still imports about 70-80 percent of its phones. That results in high import duties, which in turn make the phones expensive.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Those who balk at the price of an iPhone are not in Apple’s target market.
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s focus is not iPhone market share, it’s on dominating the higher end of its markets – November 3, 2018
Apple’s iPhone just had its best year ever – November 3, 2018
Why Apple’s unit sales reporting doesn’t matter anymore – November 2, 2018
The ‘smart money’ shrugs off Apple’s decision to no longer disclose unit sales – November 2, 2018
Apple rams their message home: Think ‘Apple as a Service’ – November 2, 2018
Investors bristle as Apple occludes iPhone unit sales data – November 2, 2018
Apple’s decision to stop reporting unit sales of iPhones, Macs, and iPads is a ‘defining moment’ – November 2, 2018
Apple to stop reporting iPhone, Mac, and iPad quarterly unit sales – November 1, 2018
Apple tumbles 7% after reporting record-breaking quarterly earnings – November 1, 2018
Apple beats Street with another record-breaking quarter – November 1, 2018
Apple’s App Store is destroying Google Play in services and subscriptions – April 18, 2018
Apple App Store users spent nearly double that of Google Play users in Q417 – January 26, 2018
Apple’s iOS continues to attract content apps first, despite smaller unit share – October 30, 2017
Bernstein: Google to pay Apple $3 billion this year to remain the default search engine on iPhones and iPads – August 14, 2017
Higher income U.S. states use Apple iPhones; lower income states use Samsung Galaxy phones – September 27, 2016
iOS users are worth 10X more than those who settle for Android – July 27, 2016
Apple’s App Store revenue nearly double that of Google’s Android – April 20, 2016
Poor man’s iPhone: Android on the decline – February 26, 2015
Study: iPhone users are smarter and richer than those who settle for Android phones – January 22, 2015
Why Android users can’t have the nicest things – January 5, 2015
iPhone users earn significantly more than those who settle for Android phones – October 8, 2014
Yet more proof that Android is for poor people – June 27, 2014
More proof that Android is for poor people – May 13, 2014
Android users poorer, shorter, unhealthier, less educated, far less charitable than Apple iPhone users – November 13, 2013
IDC data shows two thirds of Android’s 81% smartphone share are cheap junk phones – November 13, 2013
CIRP: Apple iPhone users are younger, richer, and better educated than those who settle for Samsung knockoff phones – August 19, 2013
Apple should not be in India, the Indian government is unfair and will harass Apple with unfair retrospective tax laws and other bureaucratic nightmare. India is very over rated and its filthy rich thrives from the misery of slave and child labour. Also where are the Pro Indians now with their Star Spangled, Gold Plated, Triple Decked LIES. Tim cooked wasted time in this god fosaked unfair country over nothing. India is NOT worth it for Apple.
Another thing, India with it 1 billion people market should developed its own iOS, OSX, Andriod and Microsoft rival. Indians boast of being tech savvy, well now walk the walk.
Trump should finish with China and then turn his eye towards India and open up the Indian market to everyone from Apple to Caterpillar, Boeing, Deere, Ford, GM and every other manufacturer.
Apple could manufacture iPhones for the Indian market here in the US with parts made by Intel, Micron and Corning among many others. Apple could do this in a cost competitive way too.
I’d negotiate in a nice way with India at first and, if they didn’t cooperate, I’d quickly tax phone calls from India by the minute and reparations from the US at a high rate. After a short while it would cost $100 for you to talk to a customer service person in India and the tax on reparations would be well over 100%.
Trump should keep his tiny fingers away from Apple. He does not know anything about how Apple Manufacturing System (AMS) is highly complex and intelligent machine created by COO and now CEO Tim Cook. We (shareholders) do not want idiots to meddle with it.
Damn. Trump does not understand AMS and how it works. Where is the edit when you need one.
Trump understands unfair trading practices when he sees them.
Too bad some apple shareholders are too dumb to see the same thing.
I partially agree with you, Trump should pressure India to open up its market for American made goods or face the consequences of phone taxation and hi rate repatriation. Hit them where it hurts the most, the WALLET. However India will find means to stop American (or Chinese assembled) made goods shipped to India. It just wont happen. However i do like and fully agree with the taxation you mention. The sooner the better
In reality, Apple has never been in India.
I think they tried to get Indian legislators to allow used iPhones in India, but think that got tanked.
The only grip Apple had in India was a greased rope held by two fingers. How anyone can call that a grip is beyond my understanding? Apple has less than almost nothing market share in India. Every Android manufacturer in the world has more grip in India than Apple could ever hope to have. Apple is now nothing more than another turd floating downstream in the Ganges River. Does Apple even have a lousy 2% smartphone market share in India? I doubt it.
Why is the news media making such a big thing out of this. I’m willing to bet most premium-brand products aren’t very successful in India. Why would those struggling citizens be buying such expensive iPhones if they’re going to bed hungry every night. It only makes sense people should buy what they can easily afford and the high-cost of an iPhone isn’t a price the average Indian consumer wouldn’t be considering. I’m not even sure why Apple is trying to sell iPhones in India when 98% of consumers can basically only afford $100 smartphones. If Indian citizens invest in anything expensive it will likely be gold jewelry that will last a lifetime or used for some dowry.
India so what…..
Apple needs a market to sell all the still useful iDevices traded in by user’s trading up to newer devices. India is simply refusing to be a tech dumping ground for a company as large as Apple that has to means to actually create iDevice factories in India for domestic sales and possibly export. With Inda’s workforce, I wouldn’t put it past them to even possibly replace China as Apple’s manufacturer at lower cost..
Completely wrong, The Indian workforce is not as efficient as Chinese work force. On top of that the inefficient and bureaucratic nightmare of the Indian government means the Apple factories will not run smoothly. The Indian government is very corrupt and so is the rest of society. Apple has enough profits and should stop being greedy and stay out of India, it is a headache it does not need. Stop spreading you PRO Indian lies of India having potential for Apple. Potential for lots of headache is not ideal. Also why cannot the Indians make their own OS to rival ios OSX Andriod Microsoft, Sony PlayStation? The Indians are constantly bragging that they are tech savvy, lets see them walk the walk. With a Billion people market they should have their own OS and export it too instead of getting foreign American OS.
“Why would those struggling citizens be buying such expensive iPhones if they’re going to bed hungry every night. It only makes sense people should buy what they can easily afford”
Common sense and spot on! Apple screwed the pooch in India…