Apple Lowers iPhone Prices in India After Country Reduces Customs Duty

Apple has reportedly cut the prices of iPhones in India after the country reduced its basic customs duty on mobile phones.

This is the first time the company has reduced prices on current-generation Pro models in India, Seeking Alpha reported Friday (July 26).

The price reductions amount to between 3% and 4% on models across Apple’s iPhone product range, according to the report.

Apple’s move follows India’s reduction of its basic customs duty on mobile phones from the previous 20% to the current 15%, per the report.

The Indian smartphone market grew 1% in the second quarter, with 36.4 million units shipped, independent analyst company Canalys said in a July 18 press release.

Canalys attributed this modest growth to elections, seasonal demand and, in some regions, extreme weather conditions. The company added that inventory levels remain high, with some vendors focusing on reducing their existing stocks.

Looking ahead, Canalys expects the Indian smartphone market to see mid-single-digit growth in both the upcoming festive season and overall shipments this year.

“The market is grappling with challenges such as fluctuating demand in the mass-market segment, slow migration from feature phones to smartphone and increasing adoption of second-hand smartphones,” Sanyam Chaurasia, senior analyst at Canalys, said in the release. “As a result, brands often resort to creating unnatural demand through festive promotions.”

Apple opened its first brick-and-mortar store in India in April 2023, when its sales in the country had jumped almost 50% amid a retail push.

It was reported at the time that Apple was looking to India and its growing middle class as a chance to boost sales at a time when the company had seen tech demand diminish in other markets.

Lowering prices in another market — China — led to a rebound in iPhone sales there. Apple offered aggressive discounts on its official Tmall site in China and saw its iPhone sales rebound after falling earlier in the year.

Apple’s iPhone sales in China have been under pressure from other makers of high-end smartphones, including China’s Huawei, but they saw a 52% jump in April and a 40% increase in May.