Apple Pulls Out iPhone 4, Its Only Phone Below Rs 20K

Within four months of its re-launch, Apple has decided to pull out iPhone 4, its only phone priced below Rs 20,000.

The move comes as Apple reported a global drop of $41 in its average selling price (ASP) of the iPhone to $596 in the quarter ended March 2014. Analysts blamed it on the re-launch of iPhone 4 and the slash in iPhone 4S prices in the emerging markets.

Earlier, Apple said that it would continue producing iPhone 4, so that the company might compete better in markets like India, Brazil and China.

One of its trade partners said the Cupertino company would now withdraw the product from all markets. According to another, iPhone 4 had served its purpose in India by doubling the consumer base for iPhones to more than 25 lakh in a year. As iPhone users are generally loyal to the brand, it's unlikely that they will migrate to any other, he added.

Trade partners also said that iPhone 4s had turned out to be its top-selling phone after Apple launched a buyback offer worth Rs 7,500 last month.

"With the buyback offer, iPhone 4s is now Apple's largest selling model by the number of units sold and also among our top five selling models," said Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO at The Mobile Store, India's largest cell phone retail chain. Following the buyback offer, iPhone 4s sales have doubled in the country, according to retailers.

"It has been a tactical move by Apple whereby consumers are willing to pay a little more for a newer model," said Sathish Babu, founder of the cell phone retail chain UniverCell Telecommunications, referring to the buyback offer. According to a trade partner, a technical issue also played a role in influencing Apple's decision to pull out the iPhone 4.

"Apple has been globally chided by the tech community for the poor performance of its latest operating system on iPhone 4 and hence, this factor, too, played a role... since it mars the entire Apple experience among first-time buyers," the source said.

As per a CyberMedia report, Apple's volume market share in the country’s smartphone market in the January-March quarter was 2.4%. Samsung ranked No. 1 with 38.9%, followed by Micromax at 19.1%, Karbonn at 6.9%, Lava at 6.1% and Nokia at 5.3%.
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