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

Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Event in October? Here's What to Expect

Monday September 29, 2025 9:31 am PDT by
Apple's annual iPhone event is in the rearview mirror, but rumors suggest the company plans to release a handful of additional products before the year ends. Will there be another Apple event this October? We discuss the possibility below. Apple in October Apple's most recent October events were in 2021 and 2023. In 2022 and 2024, Apple did not host an October event. Instead, it...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro teal 1

Apple's iPhone Driver's License Feature Now Available in 11 U.S. States

Tuesday September 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Apple recently revealed that the feature would soon be available in North Dakota, and starting today, the feature has officially gone...
maxresdefault

New iPad Pro With M5 Chip Leaked in Unboxing Video

Tuesday September 30, 2025 8:39 am PDT by
An apparent unboxing video for an unannounced iPad Pro with the M5 chip was uploaded to YouTube today by Russian channel Wylsacom. The same YouTube account leaked the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip before it was announced by Apple last year, so this is likely a legitimate leak. Based on the box shown in the video, this appears to be a 13-inch iPad Pro with an M5 chip, 256GB of...
fcc vision pro leak

FCC Accidentally Leaks Apple's Next Vision Pro

Tuesday September 30, 2025 3:48 pm PDT by
The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has seemingly confirmed Apple's work on an updated version of the Vision Pro headset. One of several documents the FCC shared today references an Apple-designed "Head Mounted Device" with a model number of A3416. An included image confirms the device is a Vision Pro. The FCC's uploads are transmission tests, SAR test reports, and...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.0.1 With Fixes for Wi-Fi, Cellular, and Camera Issues on iPhone 17 Models

Monday September 29, 2025 10:12 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 26.0.1 and iPadOS 26.0.1, the first updates to the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 operating systems that came out earlier this week. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes for the update, iOS 26.0.1 addresses a bug that could cause aberrations in...
macbook pro prime day 2025

FCC Leaks Upcoming MacBook Pro and More

Tuesday September 30, 2025 1:58 pm PDT by
The United States Federal Communications Commission has confirmed Apple's work on a new version of the MacBook Pro and several other products, leaking details on the devices ahead of launch. The FCC published documents that reference model numbers that do not correspond with existing devices. A3434, for example, references an unreleased MacBook Pro, while other numbers are likely for...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pro Nears Mass Production, But Four Bigger Upgrades Expected Next Year

Sunday September 28, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next MacBook Pro models will enter mass production soon, according to the latest information shared by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said he continues to believe the new MacBook Pro models will be released at some point between late 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, meaning they should be available to order by March at the latest. Apple often...
iOS 26

Apple Continues to Prepare iOS 26.0.1 With Multiple Bug Fixes Expected

Sunday September 28, 2025 1:30 pm PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The account initially said iOS 26.0.1 would have a build number of 23A350, but they now expect the update to have a build number of 23A355. This suggests that the software update will include more bug fixes or changes than initially...
space black mbp

Here's Every New Apple Product That Leaked Yesterday

Wednesday October 1, 2025 8:27 am PDT by
A handful of upcoming Apple products leaked yesterday, through a combination of YouTube videos out of Russia and U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) documents that were released, despite Apple's confidentiality requests. The leaked products include an iPad Pro with an M5 chip, as well as updated MacBook Pro and Apple Vision Pro models. All of these devices had already been rumored...
Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system. In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...

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)