Apple Inc’s iPhone 16 hit stores on Friday with one of the lowest first-day prices of any new iPhone, drawing long queues of buyers to buy it, which will help the Cupertino giant expand its share of the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market.
Despite rumors that the new iPhone will look almost identical to its predecessor, iPhone enthusiasts are eager to get their hands on the new phone as soon as possible, with demand high, according to outlets reporting. The key reason is that the iPhone is becoming increasingly affordable, with the price gap with its competitors narrowing over the years.
More than 200 buyers lined up outside the Apple store at Select Citywalk mall in Delhi before it opened, an Apple executive said. The executive, who did not want to be named, said the store opened three hours earlier at 8 a.m. to keep in mind the rush, but buyers arrived as early as 4 a.m., adding that the rush this year was stronger than last year.
Basic Model@
Thanks to bank partnerships, discounts and exchange offers, people can ₹48,900 rupees at authorized retailers, or even less depending on the device they exchange it for. Although this is still more than double the average price of a smartphone in India, ₹$22,000, but it’s still more affordable than previous iPhones. For example, the iPhone 15 starts at close to ₹60,000 on the first day of the launch, including the exchange price, but no exchange reward. To be sure, the official price of the iPhone 16 base model is still ₹79,900.
Meanwhile, Apple has cut the price of the iPhone 15 and 14 to ₹69,900 and ₹59,900. Similar bank and exchange offers apply to both devices, with the iPhone 14 now available for as low as ₹40,000.
Retailers and analysts said the measures made iPhones more affordable for more Indians. “If you add in 12-month and 24-month installments, you’ll find many buyers buying the new iPhone 16 on a 24-month installment plan for just ₹$2,500 per month. This is one of the most affordable prices for Apple devices to date,” said one of the retailers cited above.
Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint India, said: “Early feedback from retailers suggests that iPhone 16 first-day sales grew by double digits year-on-year, which could be one of Apple’s best first-day sales in recent years. As AI features are rolled out in the coming weeks, we expect shipments in the December quarter (including the festive season) to exceed 4 million units.”
Increase market share
Apple’s share of the smartphone market has steadily increased over the years.
The company, which had less than 1% of the Indian smartphone market five years ago, will have 6.3% by the end of 2023, according to market research firm IDC. Apple has been doing better in terms of value market share because of its higher pricing. Last year, its average selling price was $941, 3.7 times the industry average of $255. That helped Apple India end the year with a 23% share of the industry with $37.1 billion in net revenue, beating Samsung for the top spot for the first time.
In addition to the starting price of approx. ₹48,900 are only available in certain stores, and three multi-brand retailers said they were selling them at close to ₹60,000, including up to ₹$5,000. In addition, a five-year-old iPhone 11 in good condition can still be obtained ₹The exchange value was 15,000, they said.
“The major demand we are seeing is for the base variants of the iPhone 16 series, with many buyers eager to upgrade to this phone,” said an executive at one of India’s largest multi-brand electronics retail chains. “We are meeting this demand through trade-in offers, bank-linked cashback offers and no-cost installments. Demand for older models also continues to remain strong as prices have come down.”
Supply shortage
A multi-brand electronics retailer in Mumbai said there was a shortage of the Pro model. “Currently, the demand at our stall is not as high as last year, but we expect it to go up in the next three months. This is not just for the discounts but also because we expect more supply of the Pro model,” he said.
“Apple has had quite a journey in India and today has captured a sizeable market share and emerged as the highest smartphone brand by revenue,” said Navkendar Singh, vice president, IDC India. “Supply constraints on the Pro models will ease over the next month or so, which is a natural cycle. While prices may not come down further during the upcoming festive season, Apple is likely to be among the top five in the Indian smartphone market by 2027 with a market share of 12% or more,” Singh said.
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