Right now, Apple has less than 2 percent of the fast-growing Indian market. However, the company is unlikely to remain a bit-player for too long, with a new report stating that Apple shipments in the country grew 56 percent in the first three months of 2016 — making it one of the country’s fastest-growing vendors.
This is great news for Apple, which has increasingly been at loggerheads with the Chinese government, representing the other highly-populous market Apple is trying to grow its presence in.
With India in some ways serving as the spiritual home for Apple — as the place where Steve Jobs made a pilgrimage as a young man before starting his own company — the country has been an especially big focus of Tim Cook’s recently. Apple is said to be planning new flagship Apple Stores in the country, and is also investing $25 million in a new office complex in India — bringing around 4,500 jobs to the region during the construction process.
The success of the iPhone brand in India comes with massive possibilities for Apple, particularly as the smartphone market slows down in more established markets around the globe.
“Apple is outperforming the overall market in India, and still has great growth potential,” said Canalys Mobility analyst Wilmer Ang. “It is seriously challenging [premium market leader] Samsung’s dominance of the premium segment.”
This last point could turn out to be a challenge for Apple, however. This week a Samsung-led coalition called the Mobile and Communications Council, which also includes Indian market leaders Micromax and Intex, was successful in barring Apple from importing refurbished iPhones to sell in the country at a cut-rate.
It also awaits to be seen what impact the arrival of the iPhone SE, which costs more than the similarly-positioned iPhone 5s, will have as the year progresses. Hey, if it turns out to be as popular as it’s been elsewhere, this could turn out to be a good year for Apple in India.
Via: Digitimes
