The US used to be the second-largest global smartphone market, but India occupies that spot now, according to a new report. The Cupertino company Apple became one of the fastest-growing brands in India in the fourth quarter of 2019. It also captured 2 percent market share, says Counterpoint Research.
India Surpassed Becomes The Second Largest Smartphone Market
India now surpasses the US and is currently the second-largest smartphone market in the world. The Asian Country reached 158 million shipments last year, with 7 percent YoY growth. The emergence of India in the worldwide market is credited to the mid-range segment dominated by Chinese smartphone brands.
In a report released by Counterpoint Research, it states that Chinese brands aggressively released a lot of flagship killer smartphones to capture demand from users who want to upgrade from their first or second mobile handsets. Online channels also became the preferred platforms for introducing and selling these smartphones faster. "Although the rate of growth for the smartphone market was only single digit for the first time on an annual basis, India is underpenetrated relative to many other markets," says Associate Director Tarun Pathak.
Apple In India
Apple is one of the fastest-growing brands in India in the past quarter leveraging on the popularity of iPhone 11 and iPhone XR, reports Counterpoint Research. The iPhone XR has been the top-selling model worldwide in each quarter since the fourth quarter of 2018. Its sales alone gave Apple more than 25 percent of the overall Apple sales during the quarter.
Additionally, the report notes that Apple's performance in the region could be credited to several price cuts on the iPhone XR. These price cuts were made possible because of the iPhone XR was locally manufactured in India. Foxconn manufactured the popular iPhone model at its facility in Sriperumbudur.
Apple revised both its pricing and marketing strategies and now successfully reaping the rewards. It started with the iPhone X series and replicated with the current generation iPhone 11 series. Thanks to local manufacturing, Apple was able to offer its premium iPhone models at strategic price points.
With the positive results in terms of consumer reception and sales, it appears that Apple would continue the same strategies this year with the iPhone 12 series. The Cupertino company is anticipated to release four iPhone 12 models with some of the variants reportedly having 5G support. The next-generation iPhone flagship series is expected to unveil on Sept. 2020.
