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

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari. More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
john ternus on stage

Gurman: Major Apple Leadership Shakeup Impending With John Ternus as Next CEO

Monday October 6, 2025 6:21 am PDT by
Apple is entering its most significant leadership transition in more than a decade as multiple senior executives prepare to depart and CEO Tim Cook begins to shape the company's next generation of leaders, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Jeff Williams, who was viewed as Cook's potential successor for several...
iPhone 17 vs Air and Pros Feature

New iPhones See 'Stronger Than Expected' Demand With One Exception

Thursday October 2, 2025 7:26 am PDT by
Nearly two weeks after the iPhone 17 series launched, analysts at investment banking firm Morgan Stanley said demand for the devices has been "modestly stronger than we originally expected," based on a combination of extended shipping estimates on Apple's online store and information it gathered from Apple's supply chain. There has been strong early demand for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro,...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26 Adds These 200 New Features and Changes to Your iPhone

Saturday October 4, 2025 8:19 am PDT by
Apple's website offers a list of nearly 200 new features and changes (PDF file) included in the software update, released last month. Apple also shared equivalent lists for iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe. iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. To install the update, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap on General, and tap on Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight ...
macbook air prime day 2025

M5 MacBook Air: Release Date, Features, and Performance Predictions

Friday October 3, 2025 3:39 am PDT by
The MacBook Air is Apple's most popular laptop – a thin, fanless machine that wields quiet power thanks to the efficiency of Apple silicon. While the M4 model isn't exactly old, attention is already turning to its successor. Apple doesn't telegraph new product launches ahead of time, but we can draw a surprisingly clear picture of what to expect by looking at Apple's silicon roadmap,...
iCloud iPhone 17 Pro

Apple Highlights Five Perks for iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage

Monday October 6, 2025 6:29 am PDT by
After launching new iPhones last month, Apple is promoting iCloud+ with a prominent banner on its home page, in a bid to boost its services revenue. In addition to more storage, all iCloud+ plans include five perks for iPhone users. As a refresher, iCloud includes 5GB of storage for free. If you want extra storage, you need to subscribe to an iCloud+ plan. In the United States, prices range...
ipad pro 2024

Next iPad Pro to Have Two Key Features, But One Rumor Still Uncertain

Sunday October 5, 2025 7:00 am PDT by
The next iPad Pro models are rumored to feature two key upgrades, including Apple's M5 chip, and an increased minimum of 12GB of RAM. Last week, apparent unboxing videos for the next-generation 13-inch iPad Pro were uploaded to YouTube by Russian channels Wylsacom and Romancev768. The same YouTube channels leaked the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip before it was announced by Apple...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

iPad Mini 8 on the Way: Expected Features and Release Timeline

Monday October 6, 2025 5:05 am PDT by
A new iPad mini is "absolutely" on the way, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released a year ago? Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to information found in code that Apple mistakenly shared in...

Top Rated Comments

djcerla Avatar
56 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
56 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
56 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
56 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
56 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
56 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)