Apple Still Has an India Problem & iPhone Sales in 2018 Prove it

Apple has sold less than a million devices in India this year and that’s going to be worrisome for the brand.

Apple iPhone X has hit stores in India.

(Photo: Vivek Das/The Quint)

Apple’s struggle to grow in India continues and we’re not a bit surprised by this reality for the brand. The Cupertino-based giant has repeatedly shared its bullish ambitions for India, but numbers have barely given it a sniff.

And now reports suggest that a mass overhauling of its India team will make things even more challenging for Apple. Bloomberg has quoted sources saying that three of its sales executives have left amidst growing pressure from the US giant.

But is there anything they could have done to usurp Samsung and now OnePlus from the lead in the premium phone segment in India? Possibly not.

After all, Apple in India has resorted to its tried-and-tested formula of pricing its iPhone more expensive than most of its markets. India, clearly hasn’t made it to its main discussion panel yet and that’s got to be worrisome for Tim Cook and Co.

What also doesn’t help is the latest sales figures for Apple in India, which according to Counterpoint Research stands at less than a million devices, in the first half of 2018. This is in stark contrast to Apple’s iPhone figures from 2017, when it managed to sell over 3.2 million devices.

What could possibly be the reason for such a big downfall? Guys at Counterpoint believe that pricing and Apple’s limitation with shipping of iPhone X had a big role to play in this.

Apple had a weak Q1 2018, as demand for its iPhone 8 and X series declined the Cupertino giant had to battle rising import tariffs due to the lack of “Make In India” domestic manufacturing capabilities for its portfolio. 

Counterpoint Research

The pricing of iPhone X was already on the steeper side, but with the hike in import tariff earlier this year, it became even more expensive.

The import tariffs have increased thrice in the past five months, leading to an increase in the price of already expensive iPhones in India during the quarter. 

Counterpoint Research

Where Apple stands in the Indian premium mobile market.(Photo: Counterpoint Research)

These factors resulted in a 55 percent drop in Apple’s share in the premium segment in India.

And the brand will continue to face these barriers, until it decides it’s time to manufacture (assemble mostly) in India. All this has worked in favour of Samsung and even OnePlus.

Solving the India-iPhone Conundrum

So, what does Apple need to crack the Indian market without trickling down the price ladder? For starters, whatever Apple has sold in the past couple of quarters, most of them have been via online channels.

According to Counterpoint, almost one in four premium iPhones are sold in the online channel, mostly because of attractive deals; cashbacks or discounts. 

All this clearly shows that Apple needs a stronger online focus, but losing key executives in a heap doesn’t help its cause. What also doesn’t help is that, according to another report, Apple is re-evaluating its retail strategy in India and wants dealers to sell devices at its original market price.

Not sure that’s the best way forward for Apple, but hopefully the company has thought out its next move.

Recently, Apple has shown its keenness to set up its Maps development base in the country and also encourage app developers for iOS to mature as an ecosystem from India. Clearly it can’t be undoing all this good work just because a company that’s valued at $1 trillion now, suddenly wants to make money in the Indian market.