- Retailers, as per Reuters, have started receiving packages that read assembled in India
- Several Apple iPhones models are assembled by Foxconn here
Apple has started retailing India assembled iPhone XR models in the country. The move may help the Califonia based tech giant in competing against the China-based smartphone brands in India. Interestingly, Apple iPhone XR are being assembled at Foxconn’s factory here. Foxconn is a China based company.
Originally launched at starting prices upwards of Rs 85,000, the company is currently retailing iPhone XR at starting prices of Rs 44,999 on Flipkart (64 GB Variant). The 256 GB variant is being retailed for a price tag of Rs 79,900 on the same e-commerce portal.
Samsung, on the other hand is currently retailing its Galaxt S10 series at starting prices upwards of Rs 60,000 in India. Similarly the company is retailing its Galaxy S9 smartphone at prices below Rs 35,000 currently. Oneplus on the other hand is retailing its Oneplus 7T at prices upwards of Rs 35,000 and Oneplus 7T Pro at starting prices upwards of Rs 50,000.
Oneplus and Samsung on radar?
It seems as if the move to get iPhone XR locally assembled in India has helped iPhone compete against Oneplus 7 Series and Samsung S10’s most affordable variant. However, the company may find it difficult to compete against these brands as the specifications on paper might sound better to a lot of potential consumers.
Apple continues to lead global premium smartphone segment by capturing more than half of the market while OnePlus entered the top five brands in the premium segment for the first time ever in 2018 as competition intensified in the global premium smartphone segment. The segment grew faster than the global smartphone market, according to Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor 2018 service.
Premium smartphone market in India in Q2 2019 
Apple’s volumes in this segment, as per a Counterpoint Research, doubled annually in Q2 2019 driven by iPhone XR thanks to the price correction in April. OnePlus saw a strong uptake of its flagship OnePlus 7-series regaining the top spot back after falling behind Samsung in Q1 2019. OnePlus captured its highest ever shipment share of 43 per cent in this segment widening the gap with Samsung and Apple.
Counterpoint Research’s report read, “OnePlus continues to offer premium flagship features to Indian consumers at affordable prices. Having said that, with multiple model strategy, OnePlus debuted into the ultra-premium segment (Rs 45,000 or roughly ≥US $ 645) with OnePlus 7 Pro and immediately captured 26 per cent share. This ultra-premium segment is a subset of the overall premium segment and usually led by Samsung and Apple. With healthy sales of Samsung Galaxy S10-series, OnePlus 7 Pro and Apple iPhone XR the volumes in this segment almost doubled.”
It continued, “Samsung dropped to the second position in overall premium-segment holding 22 per cent share with volumes declining 16 per cent YoY. However, promotions for the S10 series remain strong. Galaxy S10 Plus was the top model for Samsung despite the availability of cheaper Galaxy S10e. This shows that India consumers are ready to pay more for a premium experience.”
