Apple has largely struggled for years to get hold of a decent market share in India. However, things look to be improving as the company invests in assembling some of its phones in the country to avoid paying heavy import duty fees.
Previously, the iPhone SE and the iPhone 6S sales soared as a result of local assembly. The prices of both the phones fell marginally, improving the sales greatly. Similarly, last year Apple began assembling the iPhone XR in Bengaluru the tech city of India.
As a result, the market share of Apple increased to 2% in the smartphone market which is a very positive sign. Also, the iPhone 11 has helped improve the sales but not as much as the iPhone XR as the phone is not assembled in India and it attracts 18% import duty fee.
The next big step Apple is going to take is its plan to set up official Apple stores in India. The company has talked about its plans in the past but it’s unclear as to when they will come to fruition.
In August of 2019, an Apple India representative had said that the company is looking forward to welcoming Indians to its flagship stores in the country very soon. The company has been working closely with the Indian government to reduce the price of its products in the country and to set up its stores.
“We appreciate the support and hard work by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team to make this possible and we look forward to one day welcoming customers to India’s first Apple retail store,” said Apple in response to the Indian government’s sourcing relief for single-brand retail.
Apple is also working on a successor to the iPhone SE which will reportedly release in March of 2020. The device could be important in the Indian market as it is expected to cost less than $500.
