A report from US-based research firm Strategy Analytics suggested that Apple has failed to carry forward its strong run in India after its smartphone sales dropped by 35 per cent in 2016.
The report also shed light on the fact that there has been a significant decline in Apple’s market share in the third largest smartphone market in the world. On the contrary, Android smartphones have seen a staggering rise, with 97 per cent market share in the second quarter of 2016.
According to Woody Oh, Director at Strategy Analytics, Apple’s iOS fell 35 per cent annually and shipped 0.8 million smartphones in India in Q2 2016.
“Apple’s smartphone marketshare has halved from 4 per cent to just 2 per cent in India during the past year. Apple iOS will need to reduce iPhone pricing to cheaper levels, attract more operator subsidies and enlarge its retail presence through Apple stores or online channels if it wants to re-grow significantly in the future,” he said.
One of the main reasons for Apple’s sales decline in the country can be attributed to the growing availability of cheap Android devices. As per Gartner estimation, 139 million smartphones will be sold in India in 2016, at 29.5 per cent year over year growth.
However, most of these smartphones will not cost more than $70, which is four times lesser than approximately four times less than Apple’s lowest priced smartphone.
Stubborn policies
In such a scenario, the company has to either bring down the prices of its smartphones for the Indian market or make cheaper devices; none of which the company plans to do.
It’s evident that Apple does not want to make cheaper smartphones for the Indian market as it would also mean introducing similar priced devices in other foreign markets such as Brazil where the price of the iPhone is much more.
The company, on one occasion, proposed the idea of selling refurbished iphones in the country but large-scale criticism forced the government to ban the proposal.
On another occasion, CEO Tim Cook once mentioned during his visit to India regarding the Tax ambiguities in the country which makes it difficult for foreign companies to sell products here.
The problem, though, can be dealt with if the Cupertino-based giant sets up a local manufacturing plant in the country. It’s not clear what the company has in mind but one thing that is crystal-clear is the importance of India as a smartphone market.
If the company fail to strategise a sound plan for its India operations, its iron grip will sink even more.
