On Wednesday, Apple unveiled 16E of the iPhone. This model replaces both iPhone SE and iPhone 14 in the company lineup. The new handset is the cheapest member in the iPhone 16 lineup, which aims for emerging markets including India.
The world’s second largest smartphone market (back China) has promoted significant iPhone sales, and Apple recently cracked the top five suppliers in India. But it’s not clear how the device will affect the major market a week ahead of the iPhone 16e release.
In 2024, India became the fourth largest market for Apple after the US, China and Japan, and recorded 12 million shipments in the quarter, which grew 35% per IDC. This year, it is expected to exceed 15 million milestones.
But it was not the iPhone SE or iPhone 14 that Cupertino Company helped to succeed in the South Asian market. In fact, iPhone 15 and iPhone 13 were models with 6%of the total smartphone market in the fourth quarter.
Even if Apple expands in India, the iPhone SE has seen a proportional decline. The iPhone SE (2020) accounted for 18%of the total iPhone shipping in the launch year, and the iPhone SE (2022) consists of 6%of the total delivery according to IDC data shared with Techcrunch two years later. In contrast, the iPhone 13 accounted for almost 40%of the iPhone delivery in 2022.
According to IDC, India’s iPhone See Seatments reduced the world’s ignorant amount in 2023 and 2024.
Navkendar Singh, vice president of IDC India, tells Techcrunch that almost two -thirds of India’s iPhone volume is from the previous generation.
Android dominates the smartphone market in India, with an average smartphone of $ 259. Chinese brands such as Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi have made great progress in the market. But iPhone is still the best in the market sector with more than $ 600 and follows the Samsung Galaxy smartphone. This means that the biggest competitor of the iPhone is another iPhone.
The iPhone 16e starts at 59,900 Indian Luffy (~ $ 689) and goes up to $ 1,034. In contrast, the old iPhone 15 starts at $ 804 and the iPhone 16 starts at $ 919.
In markets such as India, where old devices continue to be sold, the price difference may not be enough to justify the iPhone 16E selection than the iPhone 15, given that the budget phone sacrifices.
The new features provided by 16E may be as real as the Equated Monthly Suitchment (EMI) options, which may not be as real as it is to attract new buyers, which allows users to purchase high ticket items through installment payments. In India, about half of the customers who buy a premium handset ($ 400-700) are selected to raise funds to the device in this way.
Singh said, “The EMI suggestion will make many people prefer iPhone 15 or 16 over the iPhone 16EE.
Apple has expanded Apple Intelligence to a lower sector with its iPhone 16e. This can help the company to generate more Apple service profits over time. But Apple Intelligence is currently in its early stages, in the United States and will not arrive in India by April.
16E is the latest iPhone of Apple to assemble in India with other iPhone 16 models. But local councils will not affect prices at least in the short term.
Sanyam Chaurasia, chief analyst in Canalys, believed that the iPhone 16e could help to attract customers who can choose iPhone 12 or 13. Both can be used through the retail channel in India.
He added that younger users could choose iPhone 16E rather than old 15. “This is a model for niche audiences.
Unlike other emerging markets such as Latin America and Southeast Asia, India is not a telecommunication market where telecommunications operators plan smartphones and subsidize smartphones. As a result, iPhone 16e is a relatively expensive option for Indian buyers.
Chaurasia said that the timing of the iPhone 16e is less attractive because it is not an upgrade season.
“Apple is likely to get a discount on the iPhone 16e during the festival season later, but there are similar discounts on the existing iPhone model, which is much more attractive than this new model.”
