Apple pulls cheap iPhones off shelves just as Indians plan to replace their premium devices

• Apple has halted the production of the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, SE, and 6S Plus in India.
  
• The announcement comes are market analysts determine that smartphone users are going to be shopping for new devices over the next 12 months and are willing to spend ₹40,000 or more.
  
• The move also supports Apple’s plans to start manufacturing high-end smartphones, like the iPhone XR and XS, locally in India.
  

Apple’s iPhones are already considered to be too expensive for the Indian market where the majority wears towards budget smartphone devices.

Now, the American tech giant is pulling its cheapest iPhones — the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone SE, and iPhone 6S Plus — from the Indian market according to executives at the company who spoke to the Economic Times.


This comes at a time when India’s premium smartphone users going to be shopping for a new device over the next 12 months according to Counterpoint Research. Smartphone owners, on average, are looking to spend ₹40,000 or more on their next phone while one in every five respondents is prepared to spend more than ₹60,000.

Where ‘affordable flagship’ smartphones, like the OnePlus 7 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S10e, come in under the ₹50,000 mark, Apple’s iPhone XR — the cheapest iPhone in the company’s latest line up — costs ₹49,999 only because a 35% discount during Amazon’s Prime Day sale.

Can you still buy older iPhone models?

The cheapest iPhone that you can now buy in India is the iPhone 6S at ₹29,555 barring discounts and cashbacks.


And, if you’re looking to the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, SE or 6S Plus, there’s a very thin chance of you getting your hands on a brand new device. All four models are already out of stock on Amazon India, with only the iPhone 6 and 6S Plus still in stock on Flipkart.

Apple, at its end, has stopped manufacturing the devices and is just waiting for the inventory to run out.

Made-in-India phones for foreign markets

The move by Apple supports the rumour that the company is shifting its focus to manufacturing more of its high-end phones in India in hopes that local manufacturing will keep the prices down, without having an impact on its profits.


During the last financial year, even though Apple’s shipments in the country took a dip, it’s revenue and profits were on the rise.

This also means that it can manufacture its phones at a cheaper cost before shipping them off to be sold in mature economies, like Europe.

See also:
Apple’s iOS 13 shows the company is finally listening to users in India

Apple iPhone mass production is shifting from China to India — solving a key problem for the company

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