New Delhi: The Apple iPhone is likely to double its market share in India this year, despite a dip in smartphone sales in the April-June quarter due to the second wave of the pandemic.
The iPhone accounted for 2% of India’s smartphone market at the end of 2020.
Once the second wave recedes, the demand for iPhones is likely to outpace that of rivals as buyers of devices priced at more than $500 each are generally unaffected by the economic impact of the pandemic, experts said. The only caveat, they said, is that supply should be able to match the demand.
According to research firm Strategy Analytics, despite some hiccups in the second quarter of 2021, Apple is bound to more than double its market share to 3.8% in 2021 from 1.9% last year. The next iteration of the iPhone—coupled with the already-popular iPhone 12, 11 and SE series—is seen driving sales.
Analysts expect India iPhone shipments to be in the range of 4-5 million units in 2021 as compared to 3.2 million in 2020. For this quarter, though, shipments are likely to slump below the one-million mark clocked in the previous two quarters.
“The offline channel, which accounts for almost 50% of Apple’s sales, has been the worst impacted this entire quarter,” said Prachir Singh, research analyst at Counterpoint Research.
Apple did not reply to ET’s query seeking comment.
According to a recent report by CARE Ratings, as on May 5, consumer mobility — across retail and recreation — was down almost 60% across India. Mobility has slumped nearly 75% in states with a high caseload.
“Both Foxconn and Wistron factories in South India have cut production significantly due to state-wide restrictions. All this is already impacting sales,” Singh said. “That said, this will only delay purchases for a premium product buyer and Q3 will revive Apple’s growth momentum faster than other mid-segment brands.”
Market watchers believe that Apple iPhone sales will outperform the broader smartphone market once online retailers Amazon and Flipkart start festive-season discounts. “We don’t expect any downside on demand but maintaining supplies will be the key,” said Navkender Singh, research director at IDC India. “Any consumer’s decision to buy a product priced above $500 is well thought of but the unavailability of stocks could draw down the sentiment.”
Apple has been achieving record-breaking sales in all product categories for three straight quarters. It was the top premium brand in the January-March period, commanding a 48% share among phones prices Rs 30,000 and above and 207% year-on-year growth, as per Counterpoint Research.
iPad and iMac also witnessed record sales in the first three months of the year, and the brand captured the second spot in the tablet market and fourth spot in the consumer PC market for the first-time ever.
iMac sales grew 336% year-on-year shipping 167,000 units and the brand captured 5.4% of the PC market, IDC data showed. iPads grabbed the second spot replacing Samsung. iPad shipments grew 144% and the brand captured 29% of the market, according to CyberMedia Research.
