Apple letting go of the Indian market. Almost everyone has a smartphone by now, and this is the trend which is seemingly going on in all over the world. However in India though, less than a quarter of over 1.2 Billion Indians own a smartphone, and when you consider that the people who don’t have a smartphone are looking to buy one, this brings about a huge potential market for manufacturers all over the globe to establish their supremacy in the Indian market.
It goes without saying that one would assume that Apple – one of the world’s biggest smartphone manufacturers would also want and see huge success in the Indian market, however, a new report courtesy of The Wall Street Journal, it seems that Apple is now facing ‘little success’ in the country, while on the contrary, Android OEMs are seemingly doing wonders.
This comes as a result of Apple not altering its business strategies. The company manages to release a few products every year, and these come at quite significant prices, especially when you compare the price tags with the rest of the smartphone world, and while this strategy has made Apple the world’s most profitable company, it all goes down to where the company has established its grounds. While the strategy does work in the US and other rich parts of the globe, it’s not difficult to see exactly why it doesn’t seem to work in the Indian market.
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Most Indians basically see a smartphone as a tool rather than a status symbol, and are mostly looking for inexpensive devices with a few decent enough features, such as good battery life etc. On average, an Indian consumer is likely to spend around $250 on a smartphone.
And like I said earlier, Android OEMs seem to be doing really well in the Indian market. In particular, OnePlus is doing remarkably well in the country, as it has managed to occupy 30 percent of the premium smartphone market; even more than what Samsung has managed. Fellow Chinese brand Xiaomi is also doing good in India, as it continues to offer powerful yet cheap Android devices.
If Apple does not want Android domination in the Indian market where the potential is huge, it goes without saying that the company will have to alter its strategy. Now, the question arises : when exactly will the company do so?
