It may be called the Godphone, but for many in India, it is an overpriced devil in disguise. But is it really? We take a look at six myths about the iPhone in India. And how they stack up against facts.
Myth 1: The iPhone has been a colossal failure in India
Truth: A mere 62,000 units shipped in three months and a 2 per cent share of the Indian smartphone market (as mentioned in an article in Bloomberg Businessweek) does not sound too impressive, but then was a phone priced at close to Rs 35,000, or even its Rs 19,990 avatar (the 3GS) expected to sweep the Indian market? As Apple critics keep on pointing out – and very correctly – India is a very price-sensitive market, and the vast majority of its population is far from rich. One doubts if Apple had come in expecting to clean up everything in its sights in such a market. It would be more sensible to compare how the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS have fared against similarly priced devices.
After all, those 62,000 units have a value of over Rs 100 crore in terms of sales price, which is not too bad a figure. Only Apple knows whether the iPhone has failed in India – until we know its expectations, and how exactly the iPhone fared against similarly priced competition, it would be unfair to draw conclusions. And it is not just a volumes game, but as in most high-end devices, one of value too.
As one dealer very bluntly put it, “Sir ji, you have to sell four low-end BlackBerries to get how much we make from selling one iPhone 4.” We certainly have not seen stores stopping the sale of iPhone – and neither the Indian retail community nor Apple are such jackasses so as to keep trying to peddle a product that has lost or has no demand? Or are they? And we are not even getting into the grey market here, where equally canny dealers are still selling the iPhone 4.
Myth 2: The iPhone is much more expensive in India than abroad
Truth: We are sick of the “iPhone is available for $199 in US” argument. The stark fact is that the price differential between an unlocked iPhone 4 (16GB) in the US and an unlocked one here is not that much – in the US, you would end up coughing out $649 (approximately Rs 31,500) for the device while in India, you would be paying Rs 34,990.
Even when the Dollar was in the region of Rs 46 per Dollar, you would have had to shell out close to Rs 30,000 for an unlocked iPhone from the US. Yes, there is a price differential but not as much as the “only $199 in US and Rs 34,99o here” brigade would have you believe. The $199 price tag comes with a contract tying the user to an operator for a period of time. No one would be happier than us if Indian operators followed this example, but alas, they are in no mood to do so.
Myth 3: Apple is planning to dominate the Indian smartphone market, but has been foiled by the price-conscious Indian masses
Truth: Let’s be very blunt about one thing – NO company that comes in with a product that costs about four times as much as the lowest priced product in its segment can have aspirations to totally dominating it. It just does not make commercial or even common sense. That is a bit like saying that Sony wants to dominate the Indian TV market with a 55 inch Bravia television set that costs Rs 1,50,000.
Apple is not fighting on price in the Indian smartphone market – something it would have done if nationwide domination was its goal. We sincerely doubt such a thought has crossed minds in Cupertino, even if it has a number in India. Sorry folks, Apple ain’t trying to make every phone in India an iPhone. Not yet, anyway.
Myth 4: A predominantly poor country like India cannot afford a niche product like the iPhone
Truth: The 900 million people living on less than $2 a day statistic has been trotted out time and again, but the fact is that none of the cellphone manufacturers are targeting their high-end devices at the poor of the nation. The iPhone 4, while definitely being high-end, is hardly the only phone coming with a price tag beyond the reach of most Indians.
The stark fact is that most of the high-end phones in the country are targeted at the niche, and such is the size of India, that even a quarter of a per cent of its population would total in excess of two and a half million. There are high-end cars in the country, high-end televisions, high-end sound systems – most of India cannot afford them, and their manufacturers know that. They are gunning for the very small segment that CAN. It is big enough, you see. They don’t care if the price-sensitive masses reject them – they are not courting them anyway.
Myth 5: The iPhone won’t work properly in India as there is no 3G
Reality: As we have kept pointing out, the iPhone is largely a niche, urban product. And 3G certainly is available in the metros and most of the big cities in the country. Yes, the speeds are not really in the same class as those seen in developed countries, but most people willing to splurge (and yes, we use that term because we know that most people in the country cannot afford one) on an iPhone would have access to Wi-Fi or a 3G connection.
Frankly, we have used every iPhone so far on GPRS/EDGE connections and have had no problems, except when we had to make video calls or hefty downloads, in which case we simply popped into the friendly neighbourhood or office Wi-Fi zone. Yes, we are not the mainstream user, but honestly, no one who buys the iPhone is one!
Myth 6: Apple does not consider India an important market, hence the delay in the release of different editions of the iPhone
Reality: Firstly, we think it is really Apple’s call whether India is important enough for its products. But if for argument’s sake, we consider this to be true, then we are deuced if we can understand why most Mac computers and iPods get released with weeks of their international release in the Indian market. And it is not as if they are dirt cheap either – Apple does charge a premium for the experience it provides. So, are we to believe that Apple thinks that India is an important market for a MacBook Pro that costs over a lakh rupees but not so for an iPhone that costs a third of the amount?
You know, that beggars belief. That said, we WOULD love to see Apple releasing its iPhones and iPads in India as quickly as it does its Macs and iPods. And incidentally, many companies do not release their products in India – anyone seen the Nokia N9? Or the first Amazon Kindle? Or any of Sony’s e-book readers? Or the Barnes and Noble Nook? Heck, even Amazon is not offering three of its four new Kindle devices to Indians, and they are not even as niche priced as the iPhone. Will we please stop begging for attention?
So there you have it – our take on six myths that surround the iPhone in India. You are free to think that we are wrong, but as you can see, we have a rationale for thinking the way we do. Oh, and we are not Apple fan boys – we have not uttered one word of praise for Apple or any of its products in the piece, you will notice. And Apple did not sponsor this write-up. Those are myths too!
