Apple may have messed up its iPhone SE launch in India already, before the device actually becomes available in the country.
The new iPhone SE made its debut early this week at Apple's March 21 event, arriving as a nifty little handset with a 4-inch display and powerful specs. The hype surrounding its release quickly turned into frustration in India, however, as the iPhone SE launch scheme in the country leaves much to be desired.
First off, the iPhone SE was expected to be Apple's cheapest smartphone ever, which got Indian fans understandably excited. The bad news is that while the iPhone SE has a $399 starting price in the U.S., it will start at a hefty INR 39,000 in India ($586) for the 16 GB version.
That price enters the premium segment in India, so the iPhone SE is actually not that affordable at all. Other markets are in the same situation, as the iPhone SE costs more after hefty premiums globally.
Aside from the higher price tag in India, the delay is another cause for frustration. Although Apple touted India as an emerging market for its "cheapest" iPhone SE, interested customers won't get it just yet. The iPhone SE starts shipping on March 31 in the U.S., but customers in India won't get it until April 8.
Simply put, the smartphone allegedly designed for emerging markets will in fact skip emerging markets in its first round of availability. Instead of being among the first in line, India seems more like an afterthought.
"By making it available in the first round itself in the country, Apple could have indicated that the Indian market is high on its priority list," notes Faisal Kawoosa, lead analyst at market research firm CyberMedia Research (CMR). "Though the company had mentioned about the significance of the India market for it, not including it in the list of the countries where iPhone SE would be made available first is definitely a big turn off."
In this context, it will be interesting to see if the iPhone SE will prove successful in India, where handsets above INR 30,000 account for just slightly over three percent of the market.
Beetel Teletech Limited will start taking preorders for the iPhone SE on March 29, ahead of the handset's retail release on April 8.
