At 35%, Apple tops India phone sales growth in H1

NEW DELHI: Apple's new-gen iPhone17 smartphone had a bumper opening in India with top variants - Pro and Pro Max - getting sold out across many locations as the American giant also grew fastest in first half of the year, ahead of mass brands, such as Vivo, Oppo, and realme.iPhone sales in the Jan-June'25 period grew by 35%, even when overall smartphone market recorded 2% growth (on cumulative volume of 60 million units) in the same period, according to numbers released by research firm IDC.Apple is now the fifth-largest smartphone brand in the country, with a share of 9.7% in total sales. Chinese Vivo led the market with a share of 20%, followed by Korean Samsung (14.7%), Oppo (12.3%), and realme (10.1%), according to IDC.

This despite the average selling price (ASP) of iPhone is nearly three times to that of overall ASP of smartphone market.

The strong interest for the new iPhone was evident in the early-morning rush across many stores, especially in Mumbai and Delhi. The Mumbai store witnessed some unruly scenes as many shoppers fought each other to get their hands on the latest devices.In Delhi, there were long queues outside the stores of Unicorn, which is also the biggest retailer of the brand in the country.

To avoid the rush, the retail giant allowed many customers to pre-book and take deliveries at scheduled times.Navkendar Singh, analyst with IDC Asia Pacific, said as per early estimates, sales of iPhone17 "had comfortably surpassed" the opening day numbers recorded for the previous-gen iPhone16. Singh added that iPhone continues to be one of the most aspirational smartphone brand in the country. "The company's volumes across top cities are also aided by aggressive financing schemes, exchange programmes and easy EMI options.

Also, Apple is being led by the marketing and retail expansion of the brand across the country."Apple CEO Tim Cook has spoken highly about the growth in revenue and sales of the iPhone in India. Speaking to analysts post the company's last quarterly results, Cook had said that revenues in India are witnessing record growth, led by the strong growth in sales of iPhones.IDC numbers showed that Apple and iPhone are not just a phenomenon in the bigger metros but also saw strong traction across smaller towns and cities, as the company expanded its retail stores. Apple was the fifth-largest smartphone brand in northern and southern markets of India, apart from many Tier 1, 2, and 3 cities, IDC said.