Apple gets aggressive in India, cuts the price of the Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus

To combat what has been characterized as "flagging sales" in India, Apple has cut the price of the Apple iPhone 6s and Apple iPhone 6s Plus by as much as 21% in the country. The two handsets were launched in India on October 16th. According to Tarun Pathak, senior analyst at Counterpoint Technology Market Research, this is the first time that Apple has been compelled to cut the price of its latest iPhone models in India just two months after the launch. That would indicate that the company is having an issue with weak iPhone sales in the market.

One of India's top online retailer currently has the Apple iPhone 6s priced at 48,499 Indian Rupees ($732 USD) for 16GB, 62,849 Indian Rupees for 64GB ($948 USD) and 74,940 Indian Rupees for 128GB ($1131 USD). At launch, the price range of the iPhone 6s was 62,000 Rupees ($936 USD) to 92,000 Rupees ($1387 USD) indicating a drop in price between 18%-21%.

The same Indian e-commerce company has the Apple iPhone 6s Plus priced at 61,999 Indian Rupees for 16GB ($935 USD), 75,499 Indian Rupees for 64GB ($1,139 USD) and 85,999 Indian Rupees for 128GB ($1,297 USD). The price cuts are necessary in India where a weak currency, low wages and high taxes on imports have forced the price of the iPhone to be several hundred dollars more than its price in the U.S. Despite these headwinds, for the first time ever in India, Apple had $1 billion in revenue over a 12 month period. While that was an increase of 44% year-over-year, net profits doubled during the same time period.

With the drop in price of the new models, the price gap between the Apple iPhone 6 line and the Apple iPhone 6s line has declined, which could lead to more upgrades from Indian iPhone users. Meanwhile, Apple has slashed the price of what is now considered its entry-level handset, the Apple iPhone 5s. Back in September, this model was priced at 44,500 rupees ($663USD). Three months later, the iPhone 5s can now be bought for 24,999 rupees ($372 USD). That is a 44% price cut.

Historically, the current quarter has been the strongest for the iPhone in India as the latest models are usually launched during the three months ended in December. While the price cuts might help manufacture demand for the new iPhone units, one bit of caution was uttered by Counterpoint Technology analyst Panthak. Noting the huge difference in price between the sharply discounted iPhone 5s and the current iPhones, the analyst fears that the 2013 Apple flagship will cannibalize sales of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus in India.



source: TimesofIndia via AppleInsider