Why Everyone Is Buying An iPhone In India? (6 Reasons)

Apple has changed the dynamics of the smartphone market in India, just a few years back owning an iPhone in India was considered a luxury but now seems like everyone has an iPhone. What did Apple do to bring this change and why is everyone buying an iPhone which is still considered an expensive purchase in markets like India?

In this post, we will cover why everyone is buying an iPhone in India and what’s the actual reason behind this massive shift from Android to iOS so let’s get straight into today’s topic.

Is iPhone In India Cheap?

Just a few years back the best-selling smartphone in India was Xiaomi’s Redmi 9A which came under the price bracket of 10000 Indian rupee but things have changed pretty drastically now the best-selling smartphone in India in 2023 is the Apple iPhone 13 which costs 65000 Indian rupee that’s almost 8 to 9 times much higher than the Redmi 9A.

If you live in India you might have heard kidney jokes about iPhones where users used to poke apples by saying that they had to sell a kidney to buy an iPhone as they were pretty expensive even when compared to Flagship Android Smartphones available at that time.

Back to the present Apple phones are quite in demand right now in India but the question remains the same “What made this shift so groundbreaking?” did the Indians become rich in just two years?

The one-word answer to all the questions would be EMI.

Lucrative EMI Options Available for iPhone.

The first thing that comes to our mind when we hear the term “India” is the fastest-growing economy in the world and with the growing economy, the purchasing power of Indian individuals is expected to increase with the growing demographics but that’s just half side of story.

The real reason behind the booming sales of iPhones in India is the lucrative EMI plans that banks are offering to the people so that they can afford commodities that were once considered a luxury in India.

Even if you visit any nearby store to purchase an iPhone in India you might see many lucrative offers like Cashback and No Cost EMI that are specially altered to buy an iPhone with minimum or no interest rate, which a person can pay within 12 to 24 months.

Apple’s Strategy To Dominate The Indian Smartphone Market.

Indian Smartphone market started to boom after JIO launched its 4G services in India with the growing number of users coming over the internet, India became the fastest-growing smartphone market in 2019. Android phones were dominating the Indian markets and Apple struggled to grow its user base.

Chinese smartphone makers like Xiaomi, One Plus, Oppo, and Vivo dominated the market and Apple seemed to lose its grip slowly but things took a quiet turn with the launch of the iPhone XR and iPhone SE which were specifically designed for the Asian market which at that time was considered as a value-centric market.

Made In India iPhones

With the launch of the iPhone XR and iPhone SE things started to change in India too Apple started to assemble the iPhone SE in India in 2017 which reduced the import duty on its smartphones.

Slowly this shift turned around to be a success and Apple slowly started to assemble its premium-grade smartphones, seeing the increased sales number.

Apple Logo – Fake It Until You Make It

Flaunting the Apple logo to other smartphone users became a trend in India and owning an iPhone was considered a luxury. Apple knew this and it came up with many changes to reposition its logo so that it can now be flaunted much more easily.

Many smartphone stores reported that people with an iPhone are not interested in purchasing a back cover where the iPhone logo was not seen while talking to others in a group or on a call.

Fear Of Missing Out

The average salary in India is almost 30000 with an iPhone costing almost thrice, Apple knew that once an iPhone was purchased it would be pretty much harder to make people shift from the older generation to the newer generation of the iPhone.

With every new iPhone launch, Apple creates a FOMO among already existing iPhone users of what they are missing out on if they didn’t shift to the newer model and with offers like trade-in where an existing iPhone user can purchase a new iPhone in exchange for giving its older generation model with minimal price things started to roll out pretty good for Apple.

Festive Season

India is a country of festivals and people can be seen spending a lot of money on buying new things and brands know this. Two of the biggest E-commerce giants Flipkart and Amazon launch their biggest sales of the year around the Diwali season, where they offer massive discounts on almost every brand that people are keen to purchase.

Brands like Apple list their newer iPhones as well as previous-generation smartphones with massive discounts on these sales and with the help of the bank discount on selected cards the price can further be broken down.

The price gap between the last generation iPhone and the newer models is almost double making the last generation model a value-for-money option because India still is a price-sensitive market.

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Final Words

With the growing number of people using iPhones in India the trend of using an iPhone is getting popular day by day, and with the new users onboarding into the Apple Ecosystem things look quite good for Apple in India.

The Indian smartphone market is currently following the global trend of shifting to an iPhone instead of an Android and this shift steadily can bring a huge difference in the coming years.

Brands like Samsung, OnePlus, and Xiaomi are already working to tackle this change by incorporating new technologies like higher refresh rate displays, foldable phones, bigger batteries, and better cameras to compete in the market with Apple.

Ash Vashisht

Hey there! I’m Ash Vashisht, a tech enthusiast and ex-marketing manager. I love diving into the world of technology and exploring cool innovations. Join me in unraveling the latest tech trends and insights.