Indian Consumers Benefit From Apple vs Samsung Price War

As far as we know, India is facing a price war which recently started between Apple and Samsung, two of the biggest tech titans. The “war” debuted at the beginning of this month, when Apple announced that the company will give a discount to every customer who comes and trades an older version of the iPhone device for the iPhone 4 handset. So, it seems that in this very moment, customers who trade in an old iPhone device, are offered a price discount up to 7,000 rupees, which means almost $128 for every iPhone 4 purchase. You can find all this info posted on The Wall Street Journal website.

But, as we`ve expected, Apple`s move did not remain unobserved by its rival Samsung, which came out on the market with a 15 percent cash back offer for all the customers who want to purchase a Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy tablet or Galaxy Grand device. More than that, the company offered that discount along with a previous offer related to an interest free rate plan for a 12 month period, for all the customers who will buy these devices.

Now, we are sure you realize how important is the Indian market for both Apple and Samsung, if we think about the fact that this country is one of the most populated on earth. But, it looks like Apple encountered some issues due to its standard premium pricing pattern, which didn`t help to enlarge the assimilation of Apple`s products.

In order to fix the obstacles, recently the iPhone maker decided to offer to its Indian customers the possibility to use payment plans. This move seemed to be a great idea and it increased Apple`s sales in India, three times. And, as far as we could find out, Apple claimed that their operations into this country will triple by 2015, thanks to the significance of the Indian market.

Surprisingly or not, the notorious iPhone is placed in the second position in the preferences of the Indian smartphone market with only 15.6 % revenue share. And, the distance between the second and the first place is quite considerable we may say, Samsung reaching a 38.8 percent revenue share into the Indian market. Maybe it helps the fact that, Samsung is offering a various range of devices at different prices, and that makes it more accessible.

It seems that Apple is having some pricing related difficulties in India, due to the decision of the mobile providers in this country, to stop the price subsidization for all smartphone devices . As a result, you`ll see the Samsung Galaxy Grand at a price of 21,500 rupees, while Apple`s iPhone 5 can be purchased at a price of 45,500 rupees.

Now, if we listen to the tech observers, we should expect from Apple to come out with a new way of fighting the issue, by launching a cheaper iPhone version in the near future. The observers believe that Apple`s low cost iPhone 4 is just a temporary method which gains time for the company, in order to scour its stock older versions.