iPhone X vs Samsung Galaxy S8: Which smartphone will conquer the Indian market?

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks about the new iPhone X during a media event at Apples new headquarters in Cupertino California on Tuesday AFP PHOTOEven though premium segment player Apple has moved a notch up to the super premium category with the iPhone X its bid to grab a bigger chunk of the Indian market wont be easy with the popular Samsung Galaxy S8 firmly in place and the Galaxy Note 8 set for a massive landfallTo be made available on November 3 iPhone X will cost Rs 89000 64GB variant while the 256GB version will cost Rs 102000In the JanuaryJune quarter of 2017 Apple sold 300428 units of iPhone 7 and 206292 units of iPhone 7 Plus In the same period Samsung sold 122000 units of S8 and 140000 S8 Plus according to the data provided by Cybermedia ResearchAlso read Apple event Heres all you need to know about the three new iPhonesNow over 25 lakh people have registered to buy the Rs 67900 Galaxy Note 8 device also launched on September 12 in India which would be available starting September 21An iPhone X is seen on display during a media event at Apples new headquarters in Cupertino California AFP PHOTOAlthough iPhone X is the real competition to Samsung we must keep in mind that Samsung currently has two successful flagships with them with Galaxy S8 doing well and Note 8 just launched with huge preorders This makes the superpremium end of smartphone market very interesting for the next two quarters or so Navkendar Singh Senior Research Manager at IDC India told IANSAccording to Singh the high pricing of the iPhone X will ensure that only a very serious and real Apple fan will buy itAlso read Apple unveils the iPhone X iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 PlusHowever iPhone 8 and 8 Plus with a similar design but premium build and lower pricing will probably appeal to iPhone 6s7 users who were waiting for an upgrade These two models should be the volume drivers for Apple with iPhone X acting as a flagship at the superpremium end Singh explainedWhen it comes to Chinese brands in India Xiaomi Vivo and Oppo now have a combined market share of 54 per cent in the second quarter this year up from 51 per cent in the first quarter says the Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report by IDCSamsung Galaxy S8 smartphones are seen during a showcase to mark the domestic launch of Samsung Electronics latest flagship smartphone Galaxy S8 in Seoul on April 13 2017 The S8 and S8 became available starting April 21 with a price of 935000 won 828 USD and 990000 won 877 USD in South Korea PicAFPSamsung continues to be Indias top smartphone brand with 24 per cent market share Apple with its premium portfolio has nearly three per cent market share by volume and 11 per cent share by value in the countryAccording to Narinder Kumar an analyst at Cybermedia Research in terms of significant business contribution shipments of iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 5S declined sequentially by 59 per cent and 57 per cent respectively in 2Q 2017Also read Tech Apples new flagship device may be USD 1000 iPhone XPersonally I never see a Samsung versus iPhone competition The iPhone community is primarily for iPhone and wont shift to another phone and moving to Samsung means the big decision of coming out of the iOS ecosystem Faisal Kawoosa Principal Analyst Telecom and ESDM CMR told IANSFor him the battle in the premium segment is now between iPhone and Samsung premium models like the Note 8The trend will continue to be so for now iPhone fans will upgrade only to an iPhone and those looking for a premium option within Android will go for Samsung he addedA man walks past an advertisement for the Samsung Galaxy S8 at the companys showroom in Seoul PicAFPTarun Pathak Associate Director Mobile Devices and Ecosystems Counterpoint Research expects initial sales to be high with the Apple user base upgrading to its new devices irrespective of pricing and specsHowever Apple will have its task to cut out to acquire Android users in the premium segment when both the S8 and Note 8 likely to give strong competition to the company in India Pathak told IANSFrom the strategy point of view he said iPhone X is a good move from Apple initiating a new design form factor that can be further leveraged in successive iterationsiPhone X and iPhone 8 can coexist and wont be a threat to one anotherThese models can definitely coexist as we have seen that Apple has lately moved away from single new model per year to multiple models playing at multiple price points which is really an attempt to drive volumes and gain more share Singh notedAlso read Samsung launches premium 63inch Galaxy Note8 in India at Rs 67900iPhone X has some hugely incremental features compared to the present iPhones like lessbezel facialrecognition system wireless charging animoji etcThat should excite the staunch iPhone base looking for an upgrade This segment is not pricesensitive and I dont see price out of expectations range So iPhone X should be doing good numbers though not of the volume of mass market models or brands Kawoosa addedOne should also not forget that though primarily a premium segment player Apple is slowly opening up new avenues like the Bengaluruassembled iPhone SE 32GB at Rs 26000 to expand its presence in India a pricesensitive market with a gigantic user base scouting for devices in the Rs 15000Rs 30000 rangeYou may also like In pictures Remembering Steve Jobs