The blame of iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR price hike cannot be completely given to Apple. It is also because of the weak rupee that has relatively hiked the prices of goods. Tarun Pathak, associate director of Counterpoint said, “The $1,000-plus price tag for new (iPhone) models—even after the offers—was too much for the buyers. So, the older generation iPhones which used to drive volume were hit by Android flagships and new ones were costly.” Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple observed on Jan 2 that the market of his company was bleak—especially in China. And therefore—in order to compensate for its weak Chinese market—it is aiming to set a strong foothold in India. Rushabh Doshi, research manager at Singapore-based market research firm a Canalys, in a report on QZ said, “At the beginning of 2019, Apple began reining in distribution to ensure strict price control across all channels. Online retailers were no longer able to subsidise costs of the device heavily to ensure growth in GMV (gross merchandise value), thereby hurting sell-through and demand of the expensive iPhones.”
In order to counter the price hike, Apple intends to make its phones more affordable, the ones which will be manufactured in India. The cost savings would eventually be passed on to customers or used for channel expansion and marketing. 2018 was the year of a less costly iPhone, the iPhone XR, the other two models did not fare well in India in many Asian markets because of it high price. Hopefully with these smartphones being manufactured in India by Foxconn and Apple, the price can come down considerably for them to again become buyable. Otherwise OnePlus has a very strong chance to gain more ground over Apple during 2019. For the latest gadget and tech news, and gadget reviews, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For newest tech & gadget videos subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
