Budget 2024 didn’t bring a lot of excitement for the Indian smartphone market but there were few glimpses of promise that looks to help the industry grow further. However, Indian smartphone buyers expecting lower prices for new models are set to face disappointment.
Time For Cheaper iPhone Pros In India?
Industry experts have said that the recent changes to basic customs duty on mobile phones and components is unlikely to help the phone makers pass on the benefits of the cut to the end consumer. Customs duties are applicable on phones that are being imported which is relevant for brands like Apple and Google that continue to bring their fully-made devices from other countries.
But will the iPhone 15 Pro and the Pixel 8 Pro models get a price cut in the country after these changes? “The reduction of BCD on smartphones, chargers and PCBA will not have any major impact on the prices of smartphones. We may expect a price cut of 1 to 2 percent on an average from this move, however, this depends on OEMs if they want to pass this to the end consumer,” as highlighted by Tarun Pathak, Research Director and Telecom Analyst at Counterpoint Research.
Premium phones have been in demand over the past few years in the Indian market but even then, the majority of buyers look to buy in the affordable and mid-range segment.
Will these revisions help them save money on their next phone purchase? “We have seen since the launch of 5G smartphones the growth has been favouring premium segments. This opportunity is almost exhausted by now. We need to now look at interventions that could help in making affordable 5G smartphones,” Mohammad Faisal Ali Kawoosa, Founder, Techarc explained the situation and the reality of these decisions from the government.
No Cuts For The Masses
The customs duty revision from 20 percent to 15 percent might sound like a lot but with the ongoing inflationary prices and overall cost of raw materials, the overall impact of these cuts might never make it to the consumers.
Experts were hoping the Centre will offer slab-wise revisions which could have aided the growth and increase in availability of affordable 5G phones in the market. “In the lower price segments, we may not see this as in these price segments, the margins are very low,” Tarun adds to his views by dampening the excitement of consumers after yesterday’s big announcement for the sector.
The government has seen a major chunk of the phone makers shift their production base to India, so it now seeks to give incentives to giants like Apple, Google and others to set up their shop and make the country an export hub for their products in the long term.
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