Apple
has received a big jolt to its efforts to capture a dignified share in the
Indian smartphone market.
As
reported, the Indian government has rejected Apple's plans to sell refurbished
iPhones in India.
Now,
selling old iPhone - Apple may see that as a viable strategy, and the company
sells refurbished iPhones in some markets including the US
But
it was never a good idea to try it in India.
Especially
after the fact that Apple has goofed up badly on its India strategy.
And
the most direct way to say it is - Apple has not treated India as a dignified
market so far.
India,
the third largest smartphone market, that would overtake next year Apple's home
market in US, that is now almost saturated, is a priority market for everyone -
not just in the telecom segment.
The
market with over 1000 million mobile connections but with just 225 million
smartphone users is a market with an enormous potential to tap. And it has not
happened in a day.
What
India is today for telecom players (including cellphone manufactures), China
was five years ago. And companies with a major presence in India saw that and have
invested significantly here, creating their base.
None
of them have undermined India - unlike Apple.
And
now Apple is paying the price. Or to say, it is the beginning of the bad phase
for the largest corporation of the world.
The
US has no growth prospects for iPhone as it has already an absolute domination
there. We will see an increasingly hostile China as Chinese companies go global
with their smartphone ambitions. In fact, as per the latest data on global
shipment of smartphones, three companies out of top five are Chinese - Huawei,
Oppo and Vivo - at 3,4, and 5.
That
growing realization has forced Apple to now look for a wider presence in India.
But
the million dollar question is - can Apple raise its share to a dignified
level, from the current 2% - in a market that it thought was not smart enough
to appreciate its globe-trotting iPhone?
Apart
from a few, majority of the consumers don't view iPhone positively. For them,
buying an iPhone has never been a value proposition, especially when Indian
customers see that Apple launches iPhone in India in the last tranche of its
shipments, after catering to every other market; especially when they see the
same iPhone has been priced much higher in India; and especially when they see
other elite smartphones priced much lower and launched at the same time in
India as the other markets.
In
fact, many who can afford iPhone don't go for it because its bloated price from
them is a sheer waste of money.
Apple
intended to establish iPhone as the most premium smartphone brand in India and deliberately
kept it out of reach of majority by maintaining price barriers. That sent a
message that Apple was never in sync with Indian sensitivities and overlooked
the Indian customer.
And
Apple cannot replenish its fortunes by sustaining with that strategy.