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Smartphone manufacturer Apple sold more than 1.2 Mn iPhones in the country in the second quarter of 2022, representing a 94% year-on-year (YoY) growth, a report by CyberMedia Research (CMR) said. 

The research firm noted that the growth was largely led by sales of iPhone 12 and iPhone13. It further added that close to a million of the total shipments were ‘Make in India’ devices.

“Through the course of the second quarter, Apple continued its India market momentum with a stupendous YoY growth, driven by increased local iPhone manufacturing. The iPhone 12 series, along with the iPhone 13 series, accounted for the most iPhones shipped into the market,” CMR’s head of industry intelligence group Prabhu Ram told IANS.

The research firm projects iPhones to grab a market share of 4% in the Indian smartphone category, while it estimates the company to garner a share of 20% in the tablet category.

According to data released by CMR, Apple iPad shipments surged 34% YoY, selling 2 Lakh devices in the country. “Apple iPad (Gen 9) and iPad Air 2022 accounted for a lion’s share of the iPad shipments,” the report said. 

This comes at a time when smartphone sales have been witnessing a slump in demand, largely on account of factors such as inflation. According to IDC, Indian smartphone shipments declined for the third consecutive quarter, dropping 5% in the first quarter of 2022. 

“The premium smartphone segment continues to be immune, and has benefited from consumer inclination for revenge buying in the new normal,” said Ram while presenting his contrasting views.

The growth is largely attributed to an aggressive retail campaign and India-focused offers to woo local customers.

The spurt comes months after the electronics giant started manufacturing iPhone 13 smartphones in India. While Apple has been manufacturing its iPhone SE in the country since 2017, it later also started producing iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 within the country as well.

Apple has, of late, made India its base in part due to the government’s production-linked incentive scheme (PLI) which offers financial incentives for domestic manufacturing of mobile phones and other electronics components in the country.

Earlier this year, the government also urged the US-based tech giant to develop India as a global base to export fully-built products to the world and to generate annual production output worth $5 Bn in the next five to six years.

According to CMR, Apple had shipped close to 1 Mn ‘Made in India’ iPhones to the country in the first quarter of 2022.