Apple just logged its best-ever quarter in India

Apple sold more than 1.5 million units of iPhones in India in the past quarter.

The research firm in its analysis also said that the 5G smartphone shipments crossed 4 million units in India. (REUTERS)

Apple will announce its quarterly earnings report for the first quarter of 2021 later today. In the earnings calls, where the company will give a detailed breakdown of its revenue, the company is expected to mention India, where it just had a fantastic quarter.

As per a report by Counterpoint Research, Apple witnessed its best-ever quarter in Q4 2020. The company sold more than 1.5 million units of iPhones in India in the past quarter.

The report said that while the Indian smartphone market witnessed a modest decline of 4% owing to the pandemic, it grew 19% year-on-year in Q4 2020 as the festive season offers got extended, when compared to Q4 2019, due to Diwali falling on November 14.

“The Indian smartphone market maintained its momentum in Q4 2020 after a record-breaking third quarter. As Diwali was in mid-November this year, we witnessed high shipments during October as well. The overall market crossed 150 million units in 2020 driven by high consumer demand post-lockdown,” said Senior Research Analyst Prachir Singh.

While Xiaomi and Samsung bagged the first and the second spots in terms of capturing the Indian smartphone market, Apple captured the sixth spot in Q4 2020 with 171% YoY growth and 93% YoY growth in 2020. The research firm said that the launch of the iPhone 12, aggressive offers on the iPhone SE 2020 and iPhone 11, and online expansion drove this growth. For the first time, the brand crossed 1.5 million shipments in a single quarter.

Interestingly, the research firm in its analysis also said that the 5G smartphone shipments crossed 4 million units in India. These shipments were mainly driven by two brands – OnePlus and Apple, which launched the iPhone 12 series with 5G connectivity. “Going forward, 5G smartphone shipments are expected to increase by more than nine times to reach 38 million units in 2021,” the report said.