Will India bite into Apple's new offerings?

It's that time of the year again.

We sit with family members in living rooms and talk of the new iPhones and their exorbitant prices. We give unsolicited advice to colleagues in meeting rooms about whether to buy the new Apple Watch or not.

We raise eyebrows at the Indian prices of iPhones but look at EMI options nonetheless. From Bollywood celebrities, commentators, Hollywood personalities to political pundits, everyone had something to say about Apple's California streaming event. 

Everyone is an expert or a critic when it comes to the new iPhone.

So what does that tell us?

Despite running into privacy controversies and supply chain issues, Apple continues to spark interest and conversation about its new iPhones, iPads and of course, the Apple Watch. 

More than two million people watched Apple's California streaming event on YouTube on September 14th and waited for those famous words which are part of the late CEO Steve Jobs' legacy.

"One more thing..."

But this time around, there was no "one more thing"! 

Instead, Apple stuck to the basics and released the new iPhone 13 series, a new iPad, an iPad mini and its fitness smartwatch, the Apple Watch Series 7.

And yet, here we are talking about them because the aspirational value of owning an Apple product, especially in India, is still strong.

One of the biggest takeaways for India, you ask? 

News flash, you won't have to wait for the new goodies for long. In a first, the phones will be available for pre-order in India on September 17th with sales starting on September 24. This shows what a significant market India is for Apple as the iPhone-maker aims to take advantage of its growth momentum in the country. The new iPhones will arrive in India at the same time as Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, the UK, the US and other big markets.

In another noteworthy aspect, the pricing of the iPhones in India remains the same as last year. Apple offers you improved camera features, longer-lasting battery and of course, a faster processor, the mighty A15 Bionic chipset. For most, the USP remains the jaw-dropping storage option of 1TB for the Pro models.

"India is the second-largest smartphone market in the world and continues to be an important market for Apple. Apple has only a 2 per cent market share in the world’s second-largest market as compared to the 14 per cent it has in the world’s largest market-China," says Tarun Pathak, Research Director, Counterpoint Research. 

Pathak adds that Apple would like to keep a closer eye on India through recent actions like "increased local assembly, channel expansion, early launches, aggressive marketing.”

Commenting on Apple's decision to maintain its India pricing from last year, Pathak calls it "a good move", attributing the decision to strong competition for iPhones in the ultra-premium segment. Pathak also expects iPhone sales to go up in the upcoming festive season in India.

So here's a round-up Apple's new launches with India prices if you're looking to upgrade to the new gadgets.

iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max (Photo Courtesy: Apple)

Meet the iPhone 13s with massive storage

iPhone 13 Pro Max starts at $1,099
India Price: Rs 1,29,900

iPhone 13 Pro starts at $999
India Price: Rs 1,19,900

iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini (Photo Courtesy: Apple)

iPhone 13: Starts at $799

India Price: Rs 79,900

iPhone 13 Mini starts at $699

India Price: Rs 69,900

iPad mini (Photo Courtesy: Apple)

A sweet surprise: Meet the new iPads

iPad: Starts at $329

India Price: Starts at Rs 30,900 for Wi-Fi only

iPad Mini

India price: Starts at Rs 46,900 for Wi-fi only

Meet the new Apple watch

Apple Watch Series 7: starts at $399

India Price: Not announced