In a big step towards the Make In India campaign, Apple recently announced that the latest iPhone 13 will now be made in India. However, if you plan to upgrade to the latest and greatest from Apple and are waiting for deep discounts, you may have to wait longer as there will be no rest for Indian consumers.
The Apple premium paid by Indian consumers
At the time of writing, the iPhone 13 Mini starts at Rs 69,900 while the iPhone 13 starts at Rs 79,900. In the United States, the iPhone 13 Mini starts at $699 or Rs 53,000 (converted), while the iPhone 13 starts at $799 or Rs 60,500 (converted).
While some of the price differences are due to import taxes passed on to Indian consumers, there is a slight premium that Apple charges from its Indian consumers. Despite this, Apple has doubled its share of the Indian mobile market from 2.4 percent in 2020 to 4.4 percent in 2021 and expects to grow to 5.7 percent of the Indian smartphone market in 2022.
No price drop in the foreseeable future
With the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini now being produced in India, one might expect Apple’s latest and greatest offerings to see their prices drop. But that shouldn’t be the case.
First up is the weakening of the Indian rupee versus the US dollar.
Second, the silicon shortages that gripped the world during the pandemic have seen some recovery, but they’re nowhere near the levels manufacturers had hoped.
Third, the cost of raw materials needed to manufacture electronics has increased significantly. In addition, a number of microprocessors and elements of the display have to be imported.
Finally, there is the fiasco between Ukraine and Russia, which has thrown a huge spanner in the works for global logistics.
When can Indian consumers see a price drop?
At this point, it would not be wise to expect an official price drop. If the story is anything, Apple never lowered the price of the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 after it started making them in India.
With this in mind, online platforms like Amazon and Flipkart may be able to offer more discounts on the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini. Additionally, with the launch of the iPhone 14 series due later this year, the 13 series prices are bound to come down.
Another way consumers can wait is the holiday season. Apple could revise its Free Apple AirPods offer around this time. While there won’t be a reduction in MRP in such a case, adding a free AirPod certainly sweetens the deal.
What about the iPhone 13 Pro?
In India, the demand for any of the iPhone Pro models was significantly lower compared to the regular models. That, plus the fact that most of the Pro variants use premium materials and components that can’t be sourced locally, is a major factor in why Apple never made the Pro variant of its phones in India.
Are iPhones made in India exported?
As of now, the iPhones made in India are only for local customers. There are no plans to export these Indian-made iPhones anywhere, at least not officially.
iPhone 14 – launch in October 2022?
Although there hasn’t been a word from Apple about the iPhone 14 just yet, people who have been following the Cupertino-based tech giant will assure you that they are poised to launch the iPhone 14 in at least 3 variants sometime in September. or October of this year.
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