In India, Apple has stopped selling the iPhone 4s, which debuted in the fall of 2011, as well as the unapologetically plastic iPhone 5c, The Economic Times reported Tuesday. In withdrawing its most affordable handsets from the 1.25 billion people country—the world’s third market for smartphones and the fastest-growing smartphone market in the world—Apple is looking to boost its average selling price and profitability “which have been under strain in the country lately,” stated the report.
The iPhone 4s sold in India for as little as Rs 12,000, which works out to about $175. The iPhone 5c used to retail Rs 20,000, or about $292.
In removing the two handsets from sale in India, the iPhone 5s has become Apple’s most affordable handset in the country, priced at Rs 24,000 (about $350).
By no longer having a sub-Rs 20,000 device, Apple is likely going to see its local market share take a nosedive because the Rs 10,000-20,000 segment is among the fastest growing in India, after the Rs 5,000-10,000 segment.
Apple is rumored to release a new four-inch handset in mid-March, tentatively dubbed ‘iPhone 5se’ which should combine a revised iPhone 5s look with the latest hardware features such as Apple Pay, Touch ID, better cameras and the A9 processor.
Source: The Economic Times