iPhone SE, 11 help Apple lead India premium smartphone market in Q3

Continuing its stellar performance in the India premium smartphone market, Apple has once again led the premium segment (Rs 30,000 and above) surpassing OnePlus even before its flagship launch, a new report said on Wednesday.

Driven by strong demand for its affordable premium iPhone SE 2020 and iPhone 11, Apple maintained the lead in the premium segment on the back of attractive discounts and cash back offers.

"Apple has fully understood the price-conscious market and is slowly yet steadily making inroads in the Indian premium smartphone segment with offerings like new iPhone SE 2020 and attractive offers on hot-selling devices like iPhone 11," Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Counterpoint Research, told IANS.

"Its upcoming flagship iPhone 12 will further strengthen its position in the coming quarter," he added.

The iPhone SE 2020 starts from Rs 4,696 a month on EMI or Rs 39,900 before trade-in on Apple Store Online.

The base variant of the iPhone 11 with 64GB internal storage is now available for Rs 54,900, whereas the 128GB and 256GB model costs Rs 59,900, and Rs 69,900, respectively.

As part of festive season offers, Apple gave out free AirPods with a limited stock of iPhone 11.

Targeting Android mid-segment users as well as aspirational iPhone seekers, Apple brought the new iPhone SE to India, that looks like Apple iPhone 8 with the power of iPhone 11.

"Both these devices have rewritten the Apple India story so far. With Apple now giving a serious thrust to manufacturing/assembling in India to end its dependence on China, we will only see Apple charting a new course in the quarters to come, especially with iPhone 12 and 12 Mini," Pathak said.