Apple logs massive 93% yearly growth in India driven by older models

The jump was driven by record sales of previous-generation products like the iPhone 11, iPhone SE (2020) and iPhone XR

Driven by record sales of previous-generation products like the iPhone 11, iPhone SE (2020) and iPhone XR, Apple logged a massive 93 per cent growth (year-on-year) in 2020, said a new IDC report on Monday.

Apple has, for the first time, doubled its India smartphone market share in the festive quarter of 2020.

The iPhone maker, at the seventh slot in the India smartphone tally, exited 2020 with year-on-year growth of 93 per cent, driven by iPhone 11, iPhone SE (2020), and iPhone XR.

Even the new iPhone 12 series had a strong pickup in the festive quarter (October-December period), according to the IDC.

"Apple had a very good 2020. In the second half, the pent-up demand combined with aggressive pricing, especially by the etailers, really drove its growth," Navkendar Singh, Research Director, Client Devices & IPDS, IDC India, told IANS.

"After the launch of new models in September-October, this was further fuelled by previous-generation models -- iPhone 11, SE 2020 and XR," he added.

Bullish on India, Apple CEO Tim Cook last month acknowledged that the online store has received a tremendous response in India.

He said that Apple has doubled its India smartphone share to 4 per cent (in the December quarter) and the company is ready to launch retail stores in the country in the near future.

Despite arriving in October, the iPhone 12 contributed significantly towards the rise of Apple in Q4 2020 in the country.

Apple has already started manufacturing certain iPhone models in India.

According to the IDC's Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, the India smartphone market exited 2020 at 150 million units, a 1.7 per cent YoY decline, after several years of growth.

--IANS

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