Apple iPhone sales to pick up with onset of festive season: Experts

Apple brought its much-awaited line-up of iPhones to India on September 28.  iPhone XS with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage costs Rs 99,900; 4GB and 256GB variant is priced at Rs 114,900 and the 4GB with 512GB variant will come for Rs 134,900.

“We don’t have data yet but I think demand will be spread as gap between festive season and new iPhone launches is definitely there,” Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, told IANS. 

“The Indian consumers will look for all the options and might end up purchasing iPhones near the festive season, beginning with the auspicious period of Navratri festival from October 10,” Pathak noted.

For an Indian smartphone user, carrying an iPhone has always been a style statement, irrespective of the price, and those who are in the Apple ecosystem will generate demand for the new iPhones, sooner or later.

Apple has also slashed prices of old-generation iPhones in India.

According to Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group, CyberMedia Research (CMR), Apple is aware of the brand pull that iPhone has for aspirational India and that’s why they have slashed prices for old-generation iPhones.  “While there would be a slight uptick for old iPhone sales, during and beyond the festive season, we believe they would be up for tough competition from other smartphone brands,” Ram said. Apple is set to announce its fiscal fourth quarter results on November 1 and will reveal iPhones sales globally.

Apple posted a revenue of $53.3 billion in its fiscal third quarter -- an increase of 17 per cent from the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 60 per cent of the quarter’s revenue. “With global warranty and comparative high price in India, people may end up buying new iPhones from somewhere else,” added Pathak.