With Apple expected to release its earnings report on May 4, the iPhone maker has pinned its hope on India, where refurbished iPhones have quickly gained traction, an indication of rising new device sales due to the higher loyalty of consumers to the iPhone.
Financial Times quoted data from Counterpoint showing that iPhones accounted for 11% of refurbished smartphone sales in India in 2022, up from 3% in the previous year. Glen Cardoza, an analyst at Counterpoint, said that older iPhones, such as iPhone 6, still have a market in India, and newer 5G-equipped iPhones were particularly precious there.
India largely prohibits the import of used phones, which Apple has long lobbied against. Still, a rising iPhone share in the refurbished smartphone market highlights a bright outlook for the world's largest company by market value. Apple is looking to expand in the South Asian country and launched its first two retail stores in April.
Deven Meher, an executive at Prowesses Enterprises, told Financial Times that those who buy the second-hand iPhones are more likely to buy an iPhone in the future.
According to Counterpoint's market tracker release in April, India, which saw 19% growth in refurbished smartphone sales in 2022, surpassed China and became the world's largest refurbished smartphone market. China experienced a 17% decline in sales for the same period.
Besides the rising refurbished smartphone sales, Apple also bucked the trend and saw its new iPhone sales grow by 50% and reach a market share of 6% in the first quarter in India when other competitors struggled with declining shipments, especially Xiaomi, which experienced an annualized 44% fall, according to Counterpoint.
Meanwhile, according to official data from Apple and the Registrar of Companies of India, India's share in Apple's overall revenue rose from 0.64% in fiscal 2017 (April 2016 to March 2017) to 1.05% in fiscal 2022, with Bloomberg reporting the figure likely to reach 1.6% in fiscal 2023.
However, compared with India, the global smartphone market has yet to emerge from the trough, according to Qualcomm's latest earnings report and conference call held on May 3. Furthermore, DIGITIMES, quoting sources, reported that because some iPhone shipments previously scheduled to ship by the end of 2022 were deferred to 2023, overall iPhone shipments are expected to fall slightly in 2023 compared with a year earlier.
