OnePlus Plus has bitten into Apple in India, and the situation can only get worse

The OnePlus 6T.

Sales could grow from 3 million units estimated at 2017 to 2 million in 2017, said Counterpoint Research Reuters. The local user base of the iPhone is expected to fall by 10% to 9 million, or 436 million Android users.

Half of the new iPhone sales should come from older models, because of the cost of the product in the country. Because the only locally assembled iPhones are the SE and the 6, it is thought that Apple will import between 70 and 80% of what it sells, subjecting the company to high import duties intended to encourage local industry. Apple is the only major supplier of phones not to be manufactured in India.

"Apple does not have enough confidence … in the Indian manufacturing system to install factories and relocate some of the manufacturing in China," said Navkendar Singh, an analyst at IDC. "In doing so, they lose about 15 to 20% of their tax incentive … that they could have passed on to the consumer."

Apple has always refused to produce new phones at a low price, preferring to target "premium" customers. Even in the smartphone market of more than $ 400, Apple would sit behind Samsung and OnePlus in September.

OnePlus in particular is considered a growing challenger. The company is known for its relatively upscale performance at a great price. Its latest device, the OnePlus 6T, costs about half the cost of an iPhone XR in India.

In the past few months, about 10 to 15 percent of new OnePlus customers have abandoned the iPhone, said the company's Indian leader. Reuters.

Apple has reduced the number of distributors in the country from five to two. Reuters According to sources, recent departures of leaders are probably related to this situation.

Apple in India

The manufacture of the iPhone SE and possibly other devices with expansion in India fulfills a number of conditions imposed on Apple as a precondition for conducting business, while providing for tax breaks. However, Apple's new requirements to develop the manufacturing sector in the country can pose a long-term problem – or perhaps simply a tactic that the government has used in the past to "flee" information and to negotiate essentially through the press.

The assembly of the iPhone SE in the facilities of Karnataka Wistron began in mid-May 2017. The Indian government officials hope that the price of the SE iPhone will be reduced over time. $ 100 compared to the current local price, although Apple likely to try to avoid too much reduction in order to preserve its margins. This price reduction has not yet taken place.

The first iPhone SE models built in India by Wistron went on sale in various cities of India in June 2017. The devices carry the endorsement "Designed by Apple California, Assembled in India".

In terms of sales channels, Apple plans to create flagship stores in New Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai, all located in the top three Indian consumer investment centers. This is in addition to the Apple Apple Authorized Reseller extension that Apple would review in March 2017.

In January 2018, the Indian government changed its taxation and purchasing laws, allowing foreign-owned "single-brand retailers" to temporarily meet a 30% requirement by purchasing Indian-made products and selling them in India. from other countries. The waiver is valid for a period of five years. At this stage, the company would be required to supply 30% of its products sold in retail stores located in the country.