You will no longer get Apple iPhones below Rs 20,000, cheapest iPhone is now for Rs 24,000

Apple has discontinued selling its iPhone 4s and iPhone 5c model in India, which were being sold at Rs 12,000 and Rs 20,000, respectively.

Apple’s move to exit the sub-Rs 20,000 category comes after the company wants to boost its profitability in India.

Now, Apple’s cheapest phone is iPhone 5s priced at Rs 24,000.

"It's a step to improve the ASP (average selling price) which was falling since iPhone 4s was till recently one of their highest selling model in India due to its lower price," Pulkit Baid, director at Great Eastern, a consumer electronics retail chain in eastern India, told ET.

Apple's average selling price in India went up during Q3 of 2015 due to the new iPhone 6s series, but it declined 20 per cent compared to that a year ago.

But, Apple’s latest move can also prove to be a bane as it will give Samsung and other rival brands to capture the market share in the category as Rs 10,000-20,000 segment is among the fastest growing in India, after the Rs 5,000-10,000 segment.