Apple books shipping records of 5.4 million units of iphone in India during 2021, likely to garner 5.5% market share in India in 2022

Shipping a record 5.4 million units of iPhones in India in the calendar year 2021, and 2.2 million in the festive quarter (Q4) alone, Apple registered a stellar year last year. While Apple closed CY 2021 with a 4.4 per cent market share of the Indian smartphone market, a significant jump of 2.4 per cent share in CY 2020, Apple is anticipated to capture a 5.5 per cent market share in CY 2022.

Prabhu Ram, Head of Industry Intelligence Group at CMR said "In 2022 and beyond, Apple will further build on its recent India momentum. With deepening iPhone assembly in India, the opening of Apple-owned flagship retail stores and Apple's aggressive marketing initiatives, Apple will make further in-roads in the premium smartphone market. We, at CyberMedia Research, potentially see Apple achieving a 5.5 per cent market share, with iPhone shipments hovering around 7.5 million mark in CY2022. We believe Apple is on track for a record year ahead, especially with the potential launch of iPhone SE 2022 edition in H1 2022, and its broadest iPhone portfolio across price tiers."

Secondly, Apple has always been an aspirational brand in India but the high price tag of iPhones restricted many from buying one. Over the last couple of years, consumers have had a wide range of iPhones to choose from at different price points. For instance, the 2020 iPhone 12 was available for as low as Rs 34,999 during sales with additional discounts. And the iPhone SE 2020 was retailing for Rs 27,999. Globally, Apple saw strong demand across the iPhone 13 family across the world, including India. Apple CEO Tim Cook said during that earnings call, "We set all-time records for both developed and emerging markets and saw revenue growth across all of our product categories except for iPad, which we said would be supply constrained." The emerging markets include India, where for the first time, the iPhone 13 series was launched along with the US, UK, Japan, and Singapore. All these factors contribute towards Apple's growth in the Indian market.