Apple lost share of smartphones in India, despite major efforts - Apple CEO Tim Cook has described India as one of the most dynamic marke...
Apple CEO Tim Cook has described India as one of the most dynamic markets of the company and proposed to the government a program to provide refurbished phones in the country as a way around the high prices of its products in a price sensitive market.
Cook also said he discussed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India in May, the "possibilities of manufacturing and retailing in India," a move that will help the company avoid duties of high import on smartphones and other products the authorities imposed to encourage local production.
However, Strategy Analytics data suggests that until these plans are in action the company can continue to see poor performance in the country. deliveries of the Apple iOS on smartphones fell to 800,000 in the second quarter from 1.2 million in the same quarter last year, according to the firm research.
the market share of iOS on smartphones also fell to 2.4 percent against 4.5 percent a year ago. however, Android has seen its share soar more than 97 percent of 0 percent in the same quarter last year. Android smartphone shipments increased to 29.8 million in the second quarter of 23.2 million in the same quarter last year, although they come from a large number of suppliers, including Indian brands.
Android seems unbeatable right now because of its deep portfolio of hardware partners, extensive distribution channels and a wide range of low cost applications such as Gmail, said Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, in a statement.
The total shipments of smartphones in India grew 19 percent annually to 30.7 million in the second quarter of this year from 25.8 million units in the second quarter of 2015.
However, there is disagreement about whether apple hurts the Indian market after its recent efforts to consolidate the distribution of its products, introduce promotions and offer the cheapest iPhone sE in the country.
Gartner estimates that sales of Apple's iPhone may have picked up between 15-20 percent of the units in the second quarter compared to the same quarter of the previous year, according its research director Anshul Gupta. This can not, however, lead to a dramatic number of phones Apple has delivered, the company starts from a small base in the country.
Apple does not publish its sales in India, but according to Gartner estimates its shipments of the iPhone has not reached 1 million units in a quarter in the country any time, Gupta said. Cook said in July during an earnings call that in the first three quarters of the fiscal year of the company, iPhone sales in India increased by 51 percent year on year.
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