Ache din? Indians are now buying iPhones in big numbers and Tim Cook is happy

iPhone is too expensive for India. We have heard this again and again. But it seems the times are changing. It’s going all well for Apple lately, and the latest quarter earnings report kind of stresses that. Those following the tech space and especially the smartphone industry may recall that Apple had a minuscule market share in the Indian smartphone industry until a few years back. But, that’s no longer the case, with the company registering a fantastic quarter in India where it doubled its business. On top of that, Counterpoint Research is out with its latest report that corroborates Apple’s results.

In Q3 2021, the market research firm claims Apple was the fastest growing brand this quarter with 212 per cent year-on-year growth. While the company now leads the premium smartphone market (phones above Rs 30,000) with a comprehensive 44 per cent market share. Moreover, the market research firm adds that Apple is also leading the ultra-premium segment (phones above Rs 45,000) with a 74 per cent market share. Apple CEO Tim Cook, during the earnings call, said that during fiscal 2021, Apple doubled its business in India, which is a big feat for the company. But, what exactly has changed at Apple that’s driving the sales in the country? We will try to break it down for you in this article.

Bigger iPhone screens

Yes, the display. Since 2017, Apple has evolved its design to offer more screen real estate and get rid of the thick bezel with the signature home button at the bottom. The result is the current iPhone line-up includes iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 13 series – all of which offer a decent screen size. But, Apple hasn’t given up on its compact form factor idea, and that’s why we still have the iPhone SE 2020, iPhone 12 mini, and iPhone 13 mini.

What this means is, compared to its Android rivals, Apple now offers smartphones with around a 6-inch display which is a good enough size for watching movies, streaming shows or browsing the Internet on the go. Currently, Apple is selling iPhones starting at 4.7-inch screen size all the way to 6.7-inch, which means there’s something for everyone.

Timely iOS updates for everyone

Believe it or not, software updates are important, and Apple has been nailing it for so many years that Google’s Android is yet to have level ground. But, there are reasons for that, which we will explore in some other piece, but largely, this puts users at an advantage when buying an iPhone compared to an Android device.

A recent example is the iOS 15 update that was pushed days after the unveiling of the iPhone 13 series. iOS 15 is available for iPhone 6s users. So a phone that launched in 2015 is still getting updates. While in the parallel Android universe, devices stop getting OS updates after a maximum of three years. That’s almost double the amount compared to Android.

But that’s not the real problem for Android users. Let’s say you bought an Android device in 2021 and are waiting for the Android 12 update by early 2022. But, surprisingly, the Android manufacturer will prefer to release it sooner for newer smartphones launching in 2022 and keeping the 2021 devices in the second phase. Unfortunately, that’s the case with the majority of Android manufacturers globally. And that’s where iPhones succeed.

The Bionic advantage over other chips

Apart from the display and software updates, if there’s another crucial factor that has given iPhones a push it has been the chipset. Apple’s Bionic chipsets are capable processors, and that means, if you’re using the iPhone 11 that launched in 2019, the A13 Bionic chip is still a good processor for most of your everyday tasks, including gaming.

Compared to the Android landscape that majorly has Qualcomm and MediaTek chipsets around the Rs 40,000 mark, the Bionic chip either offers better or comparable performance. Well, you can check benchmark scores to give you a clearer picture, but this is the bottom line.

India’s premium phone segment is stagnant

The premium Android smartphone landscape is passing through a dry spell. And, I don’t mean to say that there are no phones that you can buy, but there is a dearth of decent options that I get to recommend to people whenever there’s a “what to buy” question thrown at me.

When looking at the market, the offerings above Rs 50,000 include limited Android options, like the OnePlus 9 Pro, Oppo Find X2, and Vivo X70 Pro+. There are a few Samsung phones, but then they are too costly and come at around a lakh.

Funnily, this isn’t the case with iPhones. With the iPhone 13 launch last month, Apple dropped the prices of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini in India. While the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR – both with a 6.1-inch display – continue to sell at accessible price points. What this means is there’s an iPhone from Rs 30,000 to Rs 180,000. The recent festive online sales saw massive discounts on the iPhone 12, and even Counterpoint adds that the strong demand for the iPhone 12 was one major factor in Apple’s growth.