Apple’s iPhone sales in India climb 94%, hit 1.2m – analyst

India’s beautiful Mangrove forests

Yet another signal suggesting Apple may yet surprise in current and future earnings as a report claims Apple to have sold over 1.2 million iPhones in India in the second quarter, almost double its sales in the same period of last year.

Designed in Cupertino, Made in India 

CyberMedia Research claims sales were driven by iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 with models Made in India proving particularly successful. Apple has been engaged in a multi-year attempt to build its business in the nation, and this now extends to manufacturing some devices there.  It also offers retail stores, an online store and has one of its main Apple Maps development bases there.

“Through the course of the second quarter, Apple continued its India market momentum with a stupendous YoY growth, driven by increased local iPhone manufacturing. The iPhone 12 series, along with the iPhone 13 series, accounted for the most iPhones shipped into the market,” a Business Standard report said.

It means the company now has 20% of India’s smartphone market. The research concede that financial pressures are dampening some sales, but observer that the premium segment “continues to be immune”, citing what it calls “revenge buying” as consumers kick back against the misery by buying the best they can get.

The researchers also claim other bright spots. iPad sales increased 34% in India, they said. With iPad Air accounting for a lot of these shipments.

The genius of Tim Cook

Ultimately, these signals should also be seen as a sign of the strength of Apple’s strategic work in India. The company has invested a vast quantity of effort to nurture its place in the market, and the trajectory it has created is not easy to miss.

The other take-away might be that what Apple has accomplished here is to nurture new and growing markets which are just beginning to generate good business now, even as consumer behavior in some markets begins to slow down. The decision to diversify Apple’s business continues to generate rewards, and while the significance may be lost, it matters that Apple tops the smartphone pops in developing economies, as those economies will continue to develop as others stutter.

Announcing plans to open retail stores in India, Cook said:

“I see India as a huge opportunity for us. For years we could not enter there unless we entered there with a partner, into retail, and we did not want to do that, you know? We want to maintain control over our brand and so forth. But the administration worked on this with the Indian government, and that change has been made.”

As a footnote, we know that Apple broke iPhone, iPad and Mac sales records in India in 2021. We also know that Apple is generating the highest customer satisfaction ratingsamong India’s smartphone users.

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