Surprise! Surprise! Pricey Apple overtakes affordable Xiaomi in India

Xiaomi’s Mi Note (left) next to the iPhone 6.

The big India story over the last couple of years has been its smartphone boom. The primary driver in this has been the launch of a range of affordable smartphones from both local players like Micromax and new entrants from China like Xiaomi. It makes you do a double take, therefore, to see the latest IDC figures showing that Apple has overtaken Xiaomi in the world’s fastest growing smartphone market.

IDC data for the last quarter of 2015 show that Apple has moved above Xiaomi to take the sixth spot in smartphone market share. The top five sellers are Samsung, Micromax, Lenovo-Motorola, Lava, and Intex. (Micromax, Lava, and Intex are homegrown brands.)

Source: IDC data

Interestingly, Apple is ahead of Xiaomi not only in tier 1 cities but also in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. This does not mean, however, that affordability has ceased to be a key factor in India’s smartphone sales. Indians are adept at buying earlier versions of the iPhone after they’re marked down in price when new ones arrive.

At the same time, the rising popularity of the iPhone may suggest that Indians across the board are demanding more in regards to the quality, specs, reliability, and ease of use of their smartphones.

Apple has been slow to woo India, perhaps because it did not see a big enough market here for its pricey phones. But it is making amends fast now. It recently announced plans to open Apple stores in all the major cities – until now it worked with third-party vendors for offline sales and support.

“Sales in many emerging markets were also up as India saw the biggest increase among the BRIC countries with 76% growth. Apple accomplished all this despite the increase in average selling price (ASP) for an iPhone. ASPs climbed to US$691, up from US$687 one year ago, potentially pointing to increased demand for a larger screen and higher capacity models,” the IDC report says.

Interestingly, Apple beat Xiaomi in its home turf at the tail end of 2014. But last year, Xiaomi reclaimed its number one throne, and Apple moved to the third position in China, after Huawei.

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