14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is very close to reaching a deal to start building iPhones in India, but a new report reveals that Cupertino still hasn’t abandoned its original plan to bring refurbished devices in the country.
Bloomberg notes that Apple told a panel of government officials that it would have the necessary infrastructure to make sure that these used iPhones “are compliant with quality standards,” thus trying to address concerns that India would become a dumping ground for old devices.
Apple is currently negotiating with the Indian government a series of concessions for local manufacturing of iPhones, and the company is also asking for a 15-year tax holiday, the same report reveals.
At this point, it’s not known if Apple would be allowed to sell used iPhones in the country, but previous requests of the company to do this were highly criticized by officials and rivals alike. The country’s Make in India program encourages foreign companies to build products locally in exchange for incentives, but Apple previously tried to take advantage of the local mobile sales boom by simply bringing used phones in the country.
The struggle for affordable iPhones
Many believed that refurbished iPhones, which would be available at a low price, would sell very well among Indians, but warned that the environmental impact would be huge for the country, especially when batteries reach their end of life. Apple, however, guarantees that every refurbished iPhone would meet the imposed standards.
Seeing Cupertino pushing so hard for used iPhones in India is not at all surprising. The company sold only 2.5 million phones in the country last year, which accounts for only 2 percent of the market, and all sales were made through third-party retailers.
With more than 70 percent of the phones in India sold for $200 or less, it’s hard to believe that new iPhones can help Apple achieve the high sales that it’s aiming for, and this is one of the reasons the company is struggling so hard to bring refurbished units in the country.
The government is yet to give a response, but if the go-ahead is given, Apple becomes the first foreign company to be allowed to sell refurbished devices in India.