Apple Cuts iPhone XR Prices in India

Apple has reportedly cut iPhone prices in India by around a quarter, following a similar move by the company in China.

Sources who spoke to Reuters on Thursday said the price of an iPhone XR with 64GB storage has been reduced by at least 17,900 rupees ($259), taking into account a price cut and a credit card cashback campaign.

"Apple is going to change their game," one of the people said, adding the company could also adjust prices for other devices depending on their demand.

On Apple’s India website, the price of the 64 GB iPhone XR was unchanged at 76,900 rupees, but is on sale for less than 59,000 rupees at stores, the people said.

Prices for the other two storage variants of the iPhone XR have also dropped, according to Reuters' sources, who called the pricing a "short-term promotional offer."

With smartphone sales flattening in saturated markets like the U.S., Apple is said to have turned to India for new growth, but with "little success so far," claimed a report in December.

Just one in four Indians own a smartphone, providing Apple with an opportunity to sell iPhones to millions of new customers in the country.

However, with more than 75 percent of the smartphones sold in the country said to cost less than $250, India remains a very price-sensitive market, and a tough nut to crack for Apple.

According to research firm Canalys, the number of iPhones shipped in India fell 40 percent in 2018 compared with 2017, and Apple's market share in the country dropped to about one percent from about two percent.

Earlier this week, Apple also lowered the prices of several products in China, including the latest iPhones, iPads, and AirPods. The price cuts appeared to be due in part to a reduction in China's value-added tax (VAT), but any price cuts in China should be good news for Apple as it seeks to bolster sales there, too.

Last quarter, Apple issued a revenue warning due to "fewer iPhone upgrades" than it anticipated and "significantly greater" than expected economic weakness in the Greater China region. Apple had already discounted iPhone prices at third-party resellers in China to improve results.