Apple on Tuesday reported that global iPhone sales were down for the first time. It had a lot to do with the saturation of the smart phone market (iPad sales down 19%, iPhone sales down 16%) and also the fact that the iPhone 6s didn’t sell as well as the iPhone 6 (more on that HERE).
However, if there was area that Apple couldn’t complain about… it was India, where iPhone sales grew by over 50 percent. The numbers allied with the fact that 4G networks are rolling out in India means that Apple lovers — long neglected in India — can start expecting good deals from the company now.
It’s either that or another bad quarter. Here’s a look at everything Apple CEO Tim Cook said about India in the earnings call:
Increasing Emphasis
“If you take a look at India, we grew by 56 percent, and we’re placing increasing emphasis in these areas [emerging markets], where it’s clear there will be disproportionate growth versus the more developed areas.”
India is where China was maybe seven to ten years ago
“It is already the third largest smartphone market in the world. But because the smartphones that are working there are low end, primarily because of the network and the economics, the market potential has not been as great there. But I view India as where China was maybe seven to ten years ago from that point of view, and I think there’s a really great opportunity there.”
LTE is coming
“If you look at India, and each country has a different story a bit, but the things that have held not only us back perhaps but some others as well is that the LTE rollout with India just really began this year, and so we’ll begin to see some really good networks coming on in India. That will unleash the power and capability of the iPhone in a way that an older network, a 2.5G or even some 3G networks, would not do. And so the infrastructure is one key.”
A different sales channel is needed
“The second one is building the channel out. Unlike the US, as an example, where the carriers in the U.S. sell the vast majority of phones that are sold in the United States, in India the carriers in general sell virtually no phones. And so it’s out in retail, and retail is many, many different small shops.”
A lot more to do
“We’ve been working in India now for a couple of years or more, but we’ve been working with great energy over the last 18 months or so, and I’m encouraged by the results that we’re beginning to see there, and believe there’s a lot, lot more there.”