April 13, 2021
At a time when the Indian government was busy identifying and banning Chinese apps amid border tension between the two countries, Indians, it seems, were busy lapping up cheap smartphones from brands like Xiaomi and Oppo.
Beijing-based Xiaomi held on to its pole position in the world’s second-largest smartphone market throughout 2020, data from Counterpoint Research show. Meanwhile, barring South Korea’s Samsung, all other top-selling brands in India during the year were Chinese, too.
The blip in Xiaomi’s market share during July-September 2020 was mainly due to supply chain constraints, according to the Hong Kong-based market intelligence firm. This means the #BoycottChina sentiment did not hurt the smartphone maker even temporarily.
March 17, 2021
Apple’s decision to fine-tune its global product lineup could go a long way in helping it achieve its long-standing desire to crack India.
On March 13, the American tech firm said it would discontinue selling the HomePod once its current stock is exhausted. The company will, however, continue selling its more affordable HomePod Mini that competes with other popular smart speakers such as Amazon Echo and Google Home.
Launched in India in 2018, the HomePod costs around Rs19,900 ($274) in the country as compared to its mini version that can be bought for Rs9,900 ($137).
The average selling price of smart speakers in India during January-September 2020 was Rs 5,560, according to Dubai-based market analysis firm techARC. During this period, 96% of smart speakers sold in the country were Amazon’s Echo Dot, which costs under Rs5,000.
Why Apple ended up selling a lot more iPhones in India during the pandemic scroll.in - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from scroll.in Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Covid-19 pandemic turned out pretty advantageous for Apple in India.
In the last quarter of 2020, iPhone sales in the world’s second-largest smartphone market nearly doubled compared to the previous year, data from Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research show. This was the first time that the smartphone brand crossed 1.5 million in shipments in a single quarter.
During the year 2020, the Cupertino-based manufacturer sold 93% more phones in India.
The sharp growth is being attributed to the fact that Indians could not source iPhones from other countries, where it is much cheaper. Typically, around 10-12% of iPhone owners in India buy their devices abroad either during their travels or by asking friends and family to get the smartphone for them.