People say time is money, but Indians will have to give more of both in order to get their hands on Apple’s latest smartphones. Apple is gradually making them available for sale around the world, and the expensive iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus will soon come to India.
However, not a lot of people on the sub-continent will be able to buy either one of them, seeing that the cheapest model goes costs almost $1,000, while the most expensive rises over $1,400.
Indians will get local access to Apple’s latest hype starting October 16, but the pricing list has already been announced so interested customers could pre-register their interest in the phones. That interest will have to be expressed at 62,000 rupees ($957) for the 16GB model of the iPhone 6S – which is $300 more than the same product in the U.S. ($649).
Apple’s 128GB iPhone 6S Plus is definitely out of reach for all but the most well-off Indians: 92,000 rupees ($1,420), almost $500 over the cost U.S. price of the device. According to Neil Shah, head of research at Counterpoint Research, this level of pricing puts Apple’s latest offering “way out of reach for even an average rich urban consumer.”
Apple can’t complain about its revenue in its last financial year – roughly 1.7 million units sold – but reports show that only half of them were iPhones 6 series, which is a clear picture of what most of the iPhone fanbase can afford to pay for a smartphone.
But there’s a rather simple explanation for the increased price in India: the dollar got stronger while the rupee experienced a weakening. However, in spite of the exorbitant price, the Economic Times have reported that wealthy Indians have been doing all they can in order to get an iPhone 6S or 6S Plus on the grey market.
Due to a new strategy, India became one of the major iPhone markets, with sales increasing with more than 50 percent over the two years. Before that, Apple was selling only in the thousands in the country, but the company’s revamped take on marketing changed that.
The iPhone’s rise in India happened following multiple partnership with national-level distributors, contracting banks for financing, offering buyback schemes, and providing deep discounts on older models.
Apple also has a new approach to build up success by partnering with Vodafone and Bharti Airtel to offer subscription plans for the new iPhones. The Silicon Valley seeks to gain a hold in India – the world’s third-biggest smartphone market – by offering the phones on sale in 3,500 retail stores around the country.
Image Source: Value Walk