Apple is winning the slow and steady race in India to gain a considerable market share in the second fastest economy for smartphones. Apple managed to sell 2.5 million iPhones in 2016 and while many might think these are baby steps in India, it cannot be ignored that a premium phone sold that many units in a market that is defined by price sensitivity.

These numbers released by Counterpoint Research tells us that most of these sales came from the iPhone 7 launch. Apple came in at 10th place when it comes to phone sale rankings; however, Apple remained the firm favourite in the premium phone category.

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Since India is a very price-sensitive market, most smartphones bought in India cost around $150 or less, which suggests that Apple has achieved an amazing feat given that the company sells one of the most expensive phones in the Indian market.  Companies like Xiaomi, Vivio, Lenovo and Oppo have enjoyed good sales figures thanks to their aggressive pricing and remain on the top of the mountain due to their low price driven handsets.

Apple is reportedly considering manufacturing phones in India, in order to compensate high prices that the company faces due to tariffs and middle salesman. This will also enable Apple to save on tax thanks to PM Modi’s ‘Make In India’ initiative. 

Source: Cnet