iPhones 'flaunted' over Android in India, even older ones

August 11, 2014

Selling older iPhones is Apple's new strategy to gain market share in India. The iPhone 4 was released in June 2010 but is still available and popular in emerging markets like India. Not only can you find the iPhone 4 in India, you'll also find the iPhone 4s that launched in October 2011.

225 million smartphones were sold in India last year. Apple wants a bigger slice of that action and is offering older devices to gain market share.

Here's Punit Mathur, vice president of a digital media company who made the switch from a Nexus 4 to an iPhone 4s:

"You flaunt an iPhone, but you don't flaunt an Android. An iPhone 5s that would cost 53,500 rupees ($874) is too expensive, but the 4s is still an upgrade."

The plan to gain a footing in emerging markets is by offering factory-refurbished phones from developed markets. This strategy to sell older handsets in India is a test for Apple. If successful, its' likely they'll expand to even more emerging markets like Brazil and Indonesia. Places where it's the norm, not the exception, to pay for devices outright.

What do you think of Apple's strategy to sell older hardware in emerging markets?

Source: Bloomberg