Apple continues to grow in India. The Asian country has become, for the first time, one of the top five iPhone markets in the second quarter of 2023, according to research conducted by Counterpoint Research and accessed by ‘CNBC’.
Sales of the Apple smartphone in India have surpassed the figures recorded in Germany or France and, with June data, only lagged behind those of the UK, Japan, China and the US.
The report does not disclose the exact number of iPhones sold in India, but it does point to a 50% increase in them year-on-year and thatthe country contributed about 4% in total iPhone sales in the second quarter.
As for Apple’s market share in India, it stood at 5.1% of the total smartphone market in the Asian country as of the quarter ended June, when, according to Counterpoint Research data, it reached 3.4% in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Apple’s bet on India increased last April when the Cupertino firm opened its first stores in Mumbai and New Delhi.
With this move, Apple sought to boost sales and production of iPhones in India. Something that, for the moment, seems to be giving good results.
According to different publications, the company’s intention is to manufacture around a quarter of its smartphones in the Asian country and reduce its high dependence on China, which has weighed Apple down in recent quarters.
India’s smartphone market is dominated by Samsung and Xiaomi, as consumers seem to prefer lower-mid-range devices. All in all, there appears to be a trend toward “premiumization,” and according to Counterpoint Research, smartphones valued at more than $400 now account for 10% of total market volume versus 4% pre-pandemic.
Apple’s growth story in India has been a combination of the company’s “overall strategy focused on distribution and affordability. The first industry-wide factor is the growth in the premium market in India, which Apple has tapped into,” Ankit Malhotra, senior research analyst at Counterpoint Research, told ‘CNBC’.
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