Now Made In India iPhone SE will be available to Indian customers from next week. Apple has started rolling out the first set of locally made iPhone from Bangaluru’s manufacturing facility. “We are beginning initial production of a small number of iPhone SE in Bangaluru. We will begin shipping to domestic customers this month,” the company said.
Currently less number of iPhone SE are being assembled and shipped by Wistron Corp, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer. The devices will be available on offline and online retail stores.
No Fixed Prices Yet
Though the companies have declined to speak about the price of the locally made iPhone, but trade partners have estimated it to be around Rs 25,000.
‘Game Changer’ term is being given to this step of Indian local manufacturing by IT and telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan. “This is one of the biggest moves for ‘Make in India’ because when an iconic company like Apple comes in, it means they bring a huge ecosystem with them,” Sundararajan told ET. “It’s kind of leapfrogging, because the ecosystem reaches a higher level of maturity, as everyone upgrades to the standards a company like Apple represents,” she said.
“We have given them (Apple) full cooperation and support. Apple was looking at the right place, and it’s a proud moment for India, as we’re eager to get more investments from them and others,” Karnataka industries and infrastructure minister RV Deshpande told ET.
Navkendar Singh, senior analyst at IDC India said, “Apple might decide to use the saving from differential duties in expanding its presence, increase channel margins and retail-level marketing, while making sure that Apple products are available at more retail points than before, especially in smaller cities and towns.”
But The Price Drop Can Be Between 7-10%
“The price drop can be anywhere between 7% and 10%,” said Tarun Pathak, associate director at Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research. “It depends on Apple whether it decides to pass this saving to customers and to what extent,” he said. He also added that the first shipment will be like a trial run and the actual will be clear after watching the duty deferential benefits under GST regime. The analyst believes that after clarity on GST regime and duty benefits, Apple will lower the locally made iPhone’s price by 10%.
“iPhone SE contributed a fifth of the total iPhone sales during the last quarter… In all likelihood, the previous generation of iPhones will be manufactured in India and eventually Apple can pass on some of the cost benefits to bridge the affordability versus aspirational gap,” Pathak said.
Apple’s revenue in India has grown 20% as it has decided to grow its market in India after US and China stopped. The company sold 2.7 million phones in India in 2016 and is expecting to sell 3.5 million units in 2017.
Apple iPhone got lay back in Indian market because of its higher prices, Apple tries to sells Rs 50,000 costing mobile phone in the market where 70% of the mobile phones are in Rs 10,000 category.
Apple CEO Tim Cook’s visit to India was a proof that the company is trying to grow its roots in India now. During the meet, Tim announced to set up app development centre in Bangaluru and development centre for Apple in Hyderabad with investment of $25 million. He also met PM Modi for discussing possibilities of manufacturing and retailing in the country.
Cook said earlier this month that “Apple was under-penetrated in India, but added that it was investing a “ton of energy” on retail, manufacturing and R&D among others, as it saw huge opportunity emerging from the fast-growing economy, its young population and rapidly improving 4G networks. “
