Unease over iPhone 15 pricing
₹79,900, maintaining the same price point as the iPhone 12, launched in October 2020. However, this year, the iPhone 15 Pro models are dearer by ₹5,000, while iPhone 15 Pro Max prices have surged by ₹10,000 across all storage variants. Following the launch, Indian handles on social media platform X highlighted the price disparity of the new iPhone models versus global markets, despite the Made-in-India tag.
Navkendar Singh, associate vice-president of International Data Corp. (IDC) India, said there was no impetus for Apple to revise pricing. “Apple has kept the price of its base iPhone variant constant over the past three years, since it is the primary revenue driver for the brand in India.
‘Pro’ iPhone models account for less than a fifth of all iPhone sales here. At this end of the market, buyers don’t have an alternative offering everything that an iPhone 15 Pro does similar to the niche Samsung’s ‘Fold’ range enjoys at over ₹1.5 lakh. Such buyers do not put off their purchases due to minor price differences." Experts, including Singh, said the cost of assembling a smartphone in India is almost on par with China.
which remains Apple’s biggest manufacturing hub. “China, due to economies of scale in its overall supply chain, presents a manufacturing cost that’s lower than India by nearly 5%. However, this difference is diminishing in India’s favour, and will continue to change further, as China’s cost of labour is increasing, while India is affordable for contract manufacturers like Foxconn," said a senior industry consultant working with Apple, as well as multiple other brands, seeking anonymity.
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