According to Hong King-based researcher Counterpoint, the iPhone 6 series contributes almost 33 percent of total sales of iPhones in India. This compares to the iPhone SE’s 15 percent. During the first quarter of 2018, Apple lost the leadership in the Indian premium smartphone market. At that time, Samsung regained the No. 1 position, followed by China’s OnePlus. Apple took the third spot.
From the report:
An executive said Apple wants to expand local production to insulate itself from price increases to remain competitive. The company had to raise prices by 6-7% earlier this year as the basic customs duty on smartphones was increased to 15% from 10% in December and again to 20% in February. The government in April further imposed a 10% customs duty on components like printed circuit boards populated with memory and chips, camera modules and connectors.
Back in December, Apple was forced to absorb a 50 percent tax hike on imported smartphones implemented by the Indian government. As a result, it had to increase the price of every iPhone it sold in the country except for the iPhone SE.
