Among high-end smartphones, Apple enjoys a significant market share, and with the presence of more affordable phones, it will start improving its numbers in the mid-segment where Chinese manufacturers are making a killing these days.
It won’t be surprising if Apple starts tie-ups with local service providers to further lower the price of ownerships with annual contracts like the ones present in the US. It is all wishful thinking, but we can expect Apple to come up with a very affordable Indian version of the iPhone to capture the market with.
In other news, India could allow Apple to set up units for having its iPhones refurbished in the country with a caveat that they are exported and not sold in the local market. This comes in the wake of overtures made by Apple to sell the used iPhones in India.
There is a list of exemptions that have been sought in the normal rule, which further includes a 15-year tax holiday. Aruna Sundarajan, the information technology secretary, said that as long as Apple is exporting, they don’t have a problem. They have requested for exports, and the demands around packaging are quite minor.
Stay tuned for more updates on iPhones being assembled in India!