Apple bends to woo Indians with EMIs

Around a year ago, when Tim Cook took over reins of Apple he remarked that India was not a focus market for the maker of the iPhones and iPads. But this year, it has made a U-turn, it seems. Vivek Sinha reports. For a desi connect

By: VIVEK SINHA
| Updated on: Mar 13 2013, 02:19 IST

Around a year ago, when Tim Cook took over reins of Apple he remarked that India was not a focus market for the maker of the iPhones and iPads. But this year, it has made a U-turn, it seems. It's early days yet, but Apple is clearly turning aggressive as sales move up.

Shedding its global practice of bundling its product with telecom operators' service packs, Apple in India is using firms like Redington and Ingram Micro for specialised distribution customised to charm local wallets.

You may be interested in

MobilesTablets Laptops
7% OFF
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
  • Black Titanium
  • 8 GB RAM
  • 256 GB Storage
28% OFF
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G
  • Green
  • 12 GB RAM
  • 256 GB Storage
Google Pixel 8 Pro
  • Obsidian
  • 12 GB RAM
  • 128 GB Storage
Apple iPhone 15 Plus
  • Black
  • 6 GB RAM
  • 128 GB Storage

With more than 800 million mobile subscribers and under 50 million touched by smartphones, Apple has a huge opportunity ahead. Smartphones are growing at 98% per annum in India. Apple still does not feature among the top 5 brands by volumes.

Also read
Looking for a smartphone? To check mobile finder click here.
image caption

The iPhone 5 costs 45,500 but on a down-payment of a little over 16,990, the phone can be bought with an EMI (equated monthly installment) of 4,752 in six months and 2,376 in 12 months.

Its iTunes store offers Bollywood and global songs for as little as 9 to 15 apiece, against 99 cents (53) or more per song.

Siddhartha Roy, COO of Hungama Digital, which does the back-end for Apple's music, said the company was offering 'extremely aggressive' price points for music to woo Indians.

One Apple salesperson, asking not to be identified, said 'it's not flying off the shelves' - clearly, Nokia and Samsung have been aggressive.

Katyayan Gupta, an analyst at Forrester Research, said: 'These initiatives are helping the company build its brand image.'

Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

First Published Date: 12 Mar, 22:49 IST
NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS