In a run to become a leader in smartphone sales, Apple and Samsung have always been neck-to-neck in India. But, reports now suggest that the Korean smartphone giant, Samsung has overtaken Cupertino’s Apple Inc. to become the market leader in the 30,000 and above premium smartphone segment.
The report comes in at a time when Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook is on a trip to India to discuss it declining market-share and the proposed setup of a production plant to produce refurbished iPhones. While, the release and the bombastic sale of the Galaxy S6(Edge) and Note 5 handsets have landed the ball in its competitor Samsung’s court, helping them overtake their arch enemy.
According to a report released by Korean shipment tracker Counterpoint Technology, Samsung’s share in the premium smartphone market rocketed to 47 percent in 2015-16 as compared to the 35 percent share in 2014-15. While confirming the declining sale as reported in the quarterly earnings of Apple, the American smartphone maker finished the year at 45 percent in comparison to 43 percent last year.
The analysis of the report also sheds light on the fact that Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge series have been priced aggressively to boost sales of their latest flagships. This change in gameplan has turned the tables over for the Korean smartphone maker. Apple, on the other hand have failed to deliver on its promise to provide a handy device in the form of iPhone SE. The expensive price tag of the SE has seen users stray away from the device, thus adding only 2 percent to the overall sales of the Cupertino smartphone maker.
CounterPoint research analyst Tarun Pathak added to the report saying that,
The Edge series has been going strong for Samsung and has helped the company regain share in the premium segment. The worrying part for Apple is that its new ‘SE’ device has been disappointing in India over its high pricing. The company is expected to see a spike only when it launches iPhone 7.
As reported earlier, IDC analysis also showed that Samsung shipped more smartphones than any other manufacturer in the first quarter of 2016. The Korean manufacturer outnumbered Apple and Huawei to dominate the market by maintaining its position at the top of the list.
Apple is currently lagging behind in delivering a promising product(with an appropriate pricing) to developing market like, India and China. Apple CEO Tim Cook’s Asian Tour is probably focused on fixing the said issue, and bring the countries on board as a technological hub. Tim Cook has already discussed plans to setup Official Apple Stores, a development office in Hyderabad focused on mapping technologies and a manufacturing plant in India as a part of the ‘Make In India’ program.
