Last Updated: November 24, 2023, 07:00 IST
iPhones have become a big seller but Macs are still seen as a luxury
Apple sees the iPhones being an aspirational product in India but other products are costly and a luxury for one reason.
Apple has definitely grown as a brand in the Indian smartphone market thanks to the special deals and offers on old iPhones along with the appeal of the new iPhones. Industry figures clearly show its increasing market share and you can get a sense of its demand by the number of people using iPhones around you these days.
The upcoming results from Apple will also show these numbers, especially for the iPhone sales recorded in the past few months of the quarter. However, the company might have to revise its strategy for other products like the MacBooks and iPads in the country.
Industry reports hint that shipment of Macs are likely to be lower than before in India this year, the same could be the case for iPads as well. In addition to these, Apple is also faltering with the AirPods and Apple Watch in the market, which many call a price-sensitive country.
But here’s the thing, iPhones are growing and likely to go up further in the coming quarters even though they cost a premium, so why don’t the other Apple products have a similar demand among buyers? It all comes down to the prices of the other Apple devices like the MacBook.
Case in point, the new MacBooks come with a starting price of Rs 1,30,000 in the country. At the same time, you have the MacBook M1 model selling for as low as Rs 60,000 during the online sales recently, which became a big hit among buyers. So, it is not like people don’t aspire to buy other Apple products, it’s just that they are wildly expensive and buyers have more options in the category, especially when a Windows laptop for under Rs 1 lakh can give you powerful specs.
Even the AirPods sell when it is available for Rs 10,000 which isn’t possible when the 2nd gen AirPods Pro cost over Rs 20K. Most of the market is addicted to the affordable earbuds models that come for a fraction of what the AirPods cost.
Apple doesn’t make the non-iPhone products in the country and importing the Macs and Apple Watch means the company has to pay duty to get them to the market, which is invariably passed on to the customers. Changes are likely to happen in the coming years but Apple has a long way to go before it becomes a strong force in the laptop, smartwatch and audio market in the country.
