Apple's Online Store in India Drives Significant Shipment Growth in Q1 2021

Apple enjoyed a "significant increase" in shipments in India in the first quarter of 2021, according to Canalys, suggesting the opening of its online store in the country late last year has been reaping rewards for the company (via DigiTimes).

india online store
Launched in September 2020, Apple's Indian online store offers a full range of Apple products and accessories with shopping assistance from Apple Specialists, EDU pricing for students, free no-contact delivery, financing options, a trade-in program for iPhone sales, and more.

Driven largely by traffic to the store that led to subsequent purchases, Apple became the fifth largest computer brand in India in Q1, with shipments of desktops, notebooks, tablets, and workstations combined reaching 208,000 units.

Research firm IDC's figures also indicate Apple's computer shipments in India (excluding tablets) grew 335.5% year-on-year in the first quarter and only lagged behind Asustek's by around 2,000 units. Apple and Asustek were tied for fifth place in IDC's rankings for computer brands in India in the quarter.

In a January earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that its India online store had received a "tremendous" response since opening, and that it had doubled Apple's smartphone share in the country to 4% in the December quarter. Cook said that as a result of the success, Apple was bringing forward plans to launch brick-and-mortar retail stores in the country.

Popular Stories

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
duolingo ad live activity

Duolingo Used iPhone's Dynamic Island to Display Ads, Violating Apple Design Guidelines

Friday January 2, 2026 1:36 pm PST by
Language learning app Duolingo has apparently been using the iPhone's Live Activity feature to display ads on the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island, which violates Apple's design guidelines. According to multiple reports on Reddit, the Duolingo app has been displaying an ad for a "Super offer," which is Duolingo's paid subscription option. Apple's guidelines for Live Activity state that...
Clicks Communicator Feature

'Clicks Communicator' Unveiled — Will You Carry This With Your iPhone?

Friday January 2, 2026 6:35 am PST by
The company behind the BlackBerry-like Clicks Keyboard accessory for the iPhone today unveiled a new Android 16 smartphone called the Clicks Communicator. The purpose-built device is designed to be used as a second phone alongside your iPhone, with the intended focus being communication over content consumption. It runs a custom Android launcher that offers a curated selection of messaging...
Low Cost MacBook Feature A18 Pro

Low-Price 12.9-Inch MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Reportedly Launching Early This Year

Friday January 2, 2026 9:08 am PST by
Apple plans to introduce a 12.9-inch MacBook in spring 2026, according to TrendForce. In a press release this week, the Taiwanese research firm said this MacBook will be aimed at the entry-level to mid-range market, with "competitive pricing." TrendForce did not share any further details about this MacBook, but the information that it shared lines up with several rumors about a more...
Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature Pink

Apple's 2026 Low-Cost A18 Pro MacBook: What We Know So Far

Friday January 2, 2026 4:33 pm PST by
Apple is planning to release a low-cost MacBook in 2026, which will apparently compete with more affordable Chromebooks and Windows PCs. Apple's most affordable Mac right now is the $999 MacBook Air, and the upcoming low-cost MacBook is expected to be cheaper. Here's what we know about the low-cost MacBook so far. Size Rumors suggest the low-cost MacBook will have a display that's around 13 ...
Apple Fitness Plus hero

Apple Announces New Fitness+ Workout Programs, Strava Challenge, and More

Friday January 2, 2026 6:43 am PST by
Apple today announced a number of updates to Apple Fitness+ and activity with the Apple Watch. The key announcements include: New Year limited-edition award: Users can win the award by closing all three Activity Rings for seven days in a row in January. "Quit Quitting" Strava challenge: Available in Strava throughout January, users who log 12 workouts anytime in the month will win an ...
govee floor lamp

CES 2026: Govee Announces New Matter-Connected Ceiling and Floor Lights

Sunday January 4, 2026 5:00 am PST by
Govee today introduced three new HomeKit-compatible lighting products, including the Govee Floor Lamp 3, the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra, and the Govee Sky Ceiling Light. The Govee Floor Lamp 3 is the successor to the Floor Lamp 2, and it offers Matter integration with the option to connect to HomeKit. The Floor Lamp 3 offers an upgraded LuminBlend+ lighting system that can reproduce 281...
Belkin 25W Battery magnetic

CES 2026: Belkin Announces Magnetic Ring Power Bank, Modular Dock, and More

Sunday January 4, 2026 3:02 pm PST by
Belkin today announced a range of new charging and connectivity accessories at CES 2026, expanding its portfolio of products aimed at Apple device users. UltraCharge Pro Power Bank 10K with Magnetic Ring The lineup includes new Qi2 and Qi2.2 wireless chargers, magnetic power banks, a high-capacity laptop battery, and USB-C productivity accessories, with an emphasis on higher charging...

Top Rated Comments

djcerla Avatar
59 months ago
Looks like Tim Cook was right about India. There’s a booming middle class hungry for Apple stuff, apparently.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
himanshumodi Avatar
59 months ago
I really hope their service and support is as good as it is in the rest of the world. With the base product, apple care+ and apple exchange rate, the products are obscenely expensive for India market. But if the support to go with it is good, a lot of the rich, upper middleclass folks will end up buying because of sheer longevity of Apple products (and the status associated with the brand).
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
One2Grift Avatar
59 months ago
Apple bringing its share to 10% in India would be a shock and certainly an incredible success point. Apple has decent sized shares in many industrialized countries but these markets are quite penetrated. Apple is virtually nada elsewhere. As such iPhone cominggrowth projections are quite small at around 3%.
India is a huge market. It alone would propel that 3% upwards to 4 or 5%.
we’ll see if it’s reality but iPhone a couple of points on iPhone revenue is huge.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ramchi Avatar
59 months ago
Apple carefully playing India. Their products are sold more in the off market sources, second hand, scalpers from ME, Singapore,China,Hong Kong routs. I was able to get iPhone Xs Max 512 GB for excellent price ($800-$900) about 18 months back and could sell it after 10 months almost for the same price (under warranty).

If their mid ranger editions could match the prices of OPO Flagship version, then there will be huge shift in user base to iPhones(which Apple may not do) . Hence their growth in terms of market share will be very very slow but in terms of growth percentage it will be very impressive

.iPhone 11 price was the perfect one.

Right now my iPhone 12 Pro Max 512 costs $2100 in India.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Madhava Avatar
59 months ago

What would “really serious” look like? Remember, Apple does not chase market share (though they are curiously eager to brag about it when they have the edge) and will always protect their industry leading profit margins. So within those parameters what should Apple be doing to make gains in India? As a shareholder who is frustrated by the recently stagnant stock price I really want to know.
Apple should
Provide after sales support similar to that of US.
Open offline stores in metropolitan cities.
Introduce Apple backed monthly payments for buying hardware. (Current plans charge high interest on top of already premium price)
Make services (tv+, news, etc..) available in multiple Indian languages.

There are at a minimum 100 million Indians who can easily afford Apple devices (Still very low estimate). They need to see the value what Apple brings.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Vratikranka Avatar
59 months ago

I must admit I don't know much about this. However, I do know many of the models sold in India are not even available in the US. Do they manufacture their flagship phones there?
Yes they do.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)