Apple smashes Samsung in India’s high-end smartphone market

The iPhone 7 may cost half the average annual salary in India, but that’s not stopping it from trouncing rival Samsung when it comes to premium smartphone marketshare in the country.

While Samsung garnered just 23 percent of the Rs 30,000 and up ($437-plus) market last month, Apple almost tripled this with a 66 percent share of high-end smartphone unit sales. Google’s new Pixel smartphone slid into third place with 10 percent of the market.

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Apple has continued to push into the Indian market recently, with CEO Tim Cook and other top executives making a packed visit to the country earlier in 2016. Apple also has plans to open Apple stores in India, and to invest $25 million in a new office complex, along with a new Indian office dedicated to Apple Maps.

The massive disparity between the high-end smartphone marketshare of Apple and Samsung was hinted at earlier this year, when Cupertino ran into opposition for a plan to grow its brand in India by selling imported used iPhones at a discounted rate.

In that case, Apple was opposed by a coalition of handset makers including Micromax, Intex and (surprise!) Samsung, which are among India’s biggest phone brands.

Source: Times of India