| Some anecdata based on my travels in the subcontinent in the past few years: 1. While younger consumers know about Apple (and know that it is a "superior" brand), the native Apple ecosystem has little meaning for Indian consumers. They are not on iTunes or iMessages or FaceTime. They don't have a cultural relationship with a Mac (or an iPod). 2. Google/Android got there first (2008). Xiaomi, Samsung have benefited from it. 3. The network (and its accompanying data plan) is the differentiator, not the hardware. Look how Reliance Jio exploded. 4. The wealthy/upwardly mobile love their iPhones. 5. There's a HUGE grey market for phones in India. There's also a big repair market. Both these factors probably affect new handset sales? |
1. Its difficult for the average phone user to be convinced to spend money on a device that would cost considerably less if purchased outside the country. For example, someone was telling me (I haven't personally validated) that its cheaper to take a flight to Bangkok, Thailand and pickup a Macbook Pro 15' 2018 and get it back than buy it in a local store. The same thing holds true for iPhones as well. A lot of people get phones from friends / family traveling to other countries as its cheaper to buy there.
2. Android phones provide a lot of options at a variety of price points. The choice is ultimately the reason most people go the Android route. In case of Apple, only the iPhone SE is priced in a reasonable way (as the article points).
3. You don't get the same experience buying a iPhone as other countries as Apple does not have flagship Apple stores. The sales happen through re-sellers. That could be a factor as well.
4. Broadly expanding to other Apple products, the clear lack of choice puts people off. For example, I really want to buy the Macbook 12' but with a upgraded 16 GB RAM. But that option is not available on the online store or with the reseller.