Apple will soon begin producing its flagship iPhone 12 handset inside Indian borders for sale in the country. The announcement came in remarks from an Apple spokesperson on Tuesday to the Punjab News Express.
“We are proud to be starting production of iPhone 12 in India for our local customers, ” Apple told IANS in a statement.
“Apple is dedicated to making the best products and services in the world to delight our customers, ” the company added.
Apple manufacturing partner Wistron recently began trial production of the iPhone 12 at a new facility near Bengaluru, with full production set to begin soon.
Data collated by research firm Cybermedia shows that Apple’s market share in India increased from 2% to 4% in the quarter that ended in December. Apple shipped more than 1.5 million iPhone units in India in the quarter, up 100% year-on-year. This made Q4 2020 Apple’s best quarter in the country to date.
The data shows that Apple doubled its market share due to improved sales of the iPhone 11, iPhone XR, iPhone 12, and the 2020 iPhone SE. Apple shipped a total of over 3.2 million iPhone units in India, up 60% year-on-year.
Apple’s iPhone has struggled in the past in India, which is the world’s second-largest smartphone market. A premium iPhone price tag, versus much lower-priced handsets from Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, has hampered iPhone sales in the country.
However, things have improved lately, as Apple has taken advantage of the Indian government’s Mad in India initiative to increase its manufacturing in the country, allowing it to save on import duty costs, allowing for lower prices on older generation iPhones.
(Via MacRumors)
