On Wednesday, Apple unveiled the iPhone 16e. The model replaces both the iPhone SE and iPhone 14 in the company’s lineup. The new handset is the least expensive member of the iPhone 16 lineup, aiming at emerging markets, including India.
The world’s second largest smartphone market (behind China) has fueled significant iPhone sales, with Apple recently cracking the top five vendors in India. A week ahead of the iPhone 16e’s release, however, it’s unclear what impact the device will have on this key market.
In 2024, India became the fourth largest market for Apple, after the U.S., China, and Japan, seeing a record 12 million shipments during the quarter, with 35% YoY growth, per IDC. It is expected to cross the 15 million milestone this year.
But it wasn’t the iPhone SE or iPhone 14 that helped the Cupertino, California, company succeed in the South Asian market. In fact, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 13 were the highest shipped models, with a 6% share of overall smartphone market in Q4.
Image Credits:IDC, TechCrunch analysis
Even as Apple has expanded in India, the iPhone SE has seen a proportional decline. The iPhone SE (2020) represented 18% of overall iPhone shipments in its launch year, while the iPhone SE (2022) made up 6% of total shipments two years later, per IDC data shared exclusively with TechCrunch. In contrast, the iPhone 13 made up nearly 40% of iPhone shipments in 2022.
According to IDC, iPhone SE shipments in India and globally declined to negligible volume in 2023 and 2024. Neither year saw a new SE release.
Image Credits:IDC, TechCrunch analysis
Navkendar Singh, associate vice president at IDC India, tells TechCrunch that nearly two-thirds of iPhone volumes in India come from previous-generation models.
Android dominates India’s smartphone market, with an average smartphone of $259. Chinese brands such as Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi have made great strides in the market. However, the iPhone is still top dog in the $600+ market segment, followed by Samsung Galaxy smartphones. This means, in essence, that the iPhone’s biggest competitor is other iPhones.
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