Apple posts record Sept quarter sales in India

Increased demand for Macbooks post-lockdown further boosts biz

Consumer technology giant Apple has finally managed to turn the tide in India. Buoyed by a refreshed India strategy and pentup demand for cutting-edge smart devices, the firm clocked record sales in the country during the July-september quarter.

The India numbers were impressive enough to find mention in Apple CEO Tim Cook’s earnings call early Friday morning. “Geographically, we set September quarter records in the Americas, Europe and rest of Asia Pacific. We also set a September quarter record in India, thanks in part to a very strong reception to this quarter’s launch of our online store in the

"WE SET A SEPTEMBER QUARTER RECORD IN INDIA, THANKS IN PART TO A VERY STRONG RECEPTION OF THE LAUNCH OF OUR ONLINE STORE IN THE COUNTRY" Tim Cook, CEO, Apple Inc

country,” he said during an earnings call early Friday morning.

While the absence of its new iphones during the quarter heavily impacted its business in the largest smartphone market, Greater China, data shows strong pull by iphone 11 series and iphone SE (2020) boosted Apple’s fortunes here.

Though Cook did not provide further details on the India sales numbers, research firm Canalys said Apple sold around 800,000 iphones during the quarter.

The firm regained momentum in India with double-digit growth, Canalys observed. “Apple is finally paying attention to India,” said Rushabh Doshi, research director at Canalys.

“It has opened a direct online store, giving it several new angles in its go-to-market strategy, such as utilising device trade-ins to provide purchase incentives, or bundling Airpods with iphones to make them more appealing.”

According to Counterpoint Research, Apple managed to dethrone Oneplus from the top spot in the premium segment, even without launching any new iphone models in the quarter. “Apple led the premium segment (above ~30,000), surpassing Oneplus even before its flagship launch, driven by strong demand for its iphone SE (2020) and the iphone 11,” it noted.

The firm was also helped by the nationwide lockdown, which fuelled a surge in demand for notebooks. Macbook sales have jumped manifold since May as consumers have been stuck at home and are highly dependent on smartphones and notebooks for education and work.