Apple has already tried once to get refurbished iPhones into the country. The last time around, their plans were thwarted by the so-called “consortium” of local smartphone makers.
Why is Apple pushing for it?
For a market as price sensitive as India, the barrier-to-entry into the mid-range smartphone market is really high. The market is currently flooded with innumerable (and cheap) options for the customers, making Apple’s entry into the segment quite hard.
And Apple really needs to do well in this segment because that’s where the business is. More than 80% of mobiles sold in India cost less than Rs 20,000.
Apple’s Dilemma
For Apple it’s hard to reduce the price of their phones as they still want to maintain that premium brand – which is probably their biggest selling point.
At the same time, they have to break into the mid-range market to really encash the potential of India’s huge demand. Therefore, Apple was pushing for importing refurbished iPhones to India.
Apple’s Solution
Apple has come up with a unique solution for this problem: Tim Cook wants to refurbish phones right here in India!
“Apple would be carrying out the refurbishment process in India, and has argued that it will soon have the manufacturing infrastructure needed to make them compliant with local quality standards.” (Source)
Even after outselling Samsung in the premium smartphone market category, Apple’s current market share is less than 2% in India. Refurbished iPhones will really help them get a good foothold in the middle income groups.
We hope the government will not raise any objections to this new plan by Apple to refurbish iPhones right here in India. After all, who wouldn’t want a cheaper iPhone?
