On Wednesday, Apple unveiled the iPhone 16e. The mannequin replaces each the iPhone SE and iPhone 14 within the firm’s lineup. The brand new handset is the least costly member of the iPhone 16 lineup, aiming at rising markets, together with India.
The world’s second largest smartphone market (behind China) has fueled important iPhone gross sales, with Apple not too long ago cracking the top five vendors in India. Per week forward of the iPhone 16e’s launch, nevertheless, it’s unclear what impression the machine may have on this key market.
In 2024, India grew to become the fourth largest marketplace for Apple, after the U.S., China, and Japan, seeing a document 12 million shipments through the quarter, with 35% YoY progress, per IDC. It’s anticipated to cross the 15 million milestone this yr.
Nevertheless it wasn’t the iPhone SE or iPhone 14 that helped the Cupertino, California, firm succeed within the South Asian market. Actually, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 13 had been the very best shipped fashions, with a 6% share of total smartphone market in This autumn.
At the same time as Apple has expanded in India, the iPhone SE has seen a proportional decline. The iPhone SE (2020) represented 18% of total iPhone shipments in its launch yr, whereas the iPhone SE (2022) made up 6% of complete shipments two years later, per IDC information shared solely with TechCrunch. In distinction, the iPhone 13 made up practically 40% of iPhone shipments in 2022.
In accordance with IDC, iPhone SE shipments in India and globally declined to negligible quantity in 2023 and 2024. Neither yr noticed a brand new SE launch.
Navkendar Singh, affiliate vp at IDC India, tells TechCrunch that almost two-thirds of iPhone volumes in India come from previous-generation fashions.
Android dominates India’s smartphone market, with a median smartphone of $259. Chinese language manufacturers comparable to Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi have made nice strides available in the market. Nevertheless, the iPhone remains to be high canine within the $600+ market phase, adopted by Samsung Galaxy smartphones. This implies, in essence, that the iPhone’s largest competitor is different iPhones.
The iPhone 16e begins at 59,900 Indian rupees (~$689) and goes as much as $1,034. In distinction, the older iPhone 15 begins at $804 and iPhone 16 at $919.
In a market like India, the place older units proceed to promote, the value distinction might not be sufficient to justify selecting the iPhone 16e over, say, the iPhone 15, given the options the funds cellphone sacrifices. Retailers, each offline and on-line, additionally usually promote older fashions just like the iPhone 15 at decrease costs than those set by Apple to spice up gross sales.
What new options the 16e does supply might not be substantial sufficient to draw new consumers, given the recognition of the equated month-to-month installment (EMI) possibility, which permits customers to buy a excessive ticket merchandise through installment funds. Roughly half of consumers buying a premium handset in India ($400-$700) choose to finance their units this fashion.
“With EMI affords, the distinction in actual phrases would make many desire the iPhone 15 or 16 over the iPhone 16Ee,” Singh stated.
Apple has expanded Apple Intelligence to a extra inexpensive phase with the iPhone 16e. This might assist the corporate drive extra Apple Companies revenues over time. Nevertheless, Apple Intelligence is at present in its infancy and within the U.S. and gained’t arrive in India till April.
The 16e is Apple’s newest iPhone to be assembled in India — alongside the opposite iPhone 16 fashions. Nevertheless, native meeting isn’t more likely to impression the pricing, at the least within the brief time period.
Sanyam Chaurasia, a senior analyst at Canalys, believed that the iPhone 16e may assist Apple entice clients who may in any other case decide up an iPhone 12 or 13 — each of that are nonetheless accessible by retail channels in India.
He added that youthful customers may additionally go for the iPhone 16e, moderately than the older 15. “It’s a mannequin which serves a distinct segment viewers,” Chaurasia stated.
In contrast to different rising markets comparable to Latin America and Southeast Asia, India just isn’t a telco-driven market the place carriers subsidize smartphones by bundling them with their plans. This makes the iPhone 16e a comparatively costly possibility for Indian consumers.
The timing of launching the iPhone 16e additionally makes it much less engaging, as this isn’t an improve season, which often falls round Indian festivals within the later a part of the yr, Chaurasia stated.
“Apple is more likely to have reductions on the iPhone 16e through the festive season later this yr, however there would even be related reductions on the prevailing iPhone fashions, making them much more engaging than this new mannequin,” he acknowledged.
