Diffusion for iPhones in India
Link: https://readwrite.com/2020/09/15/why-apples-iphone-struggles-in-india-and-why-it-matters/
This article, written by Misan Etchie, discusses the reasons as to why the iPhone is not all that successful in India, and the impacts this situation has on Apple. The article focuses on key factors that have been causing the iPhone to not be popular in India, such as pricing issues and taxes.
This article discusses issues that Apple faces when trying to improve their iPhone sales in India. Since India has one of the largest populations, Apple has seen India as one of its greatest opportunities to build a strong market within. Apple has tapped into the other Asian markets surrounding India, but has not been successful within India. This has been due to a multitude of reasons. Within India, the average prices of smartphones is around $200, whereas the price of the iPhone is nearly $650. This has led to many Indian citizens buying other smartphones such as Androids or Samsungs instead of the iPhone. Along with this, other issues have prevented iPhones from becoming popular in India. Issues like high import tariffs, subpar software experiences, and few retail stores has contributed to this overall problem. Nonetheless it is interesting to see how India is against iPhones, while a majority of Asian countries enjoy iPhones.
This lack of success of iPhones in India, and success in other Asian countries easily ties into the aspect of diffusion of innovations. Diffusion of innovations refers to the study of how new ideas or innovations diffuse through the lengths of networks. The popularity and use of iPhone has seemingly diffused all throughout Asia, as many Asian countries utilize the iPhone. Apple has been able to effectively market and sell their products in countries like China and Japan, but this has been easier due to the process of diffusion. With many Asian countries neighboring one another, these countries tend to have many intertwined networks. Due to having intertwined networks, a product like the iPhone can first become popular in a country like China and slowly diffuse into other countries. This has allowed the iPhone to become a powerhouse in a variety of neighboring countries in Asia. However, this article poses another different question. If the iPhone was able to diffuse throughout the Asia networks, and become popular in many Asian countries, then why did India not appreciate and adopt the iPhone as its primary cellular device?
One of the causes of India not accepting the iPhone is due to its threshold not being met. Within class we discussed the concept of threshold model of diffusion. The threshold model of diffusion refers to when people adopt a new technology, given the majority of their friends have adopted it. In the case here, it seems that not enough friends of India have adopted the iPhone, which prevents India from adopting the iphone. This concept reveals a new aspect of this situation, as it indicates that India may not be involved in an intertwined network with the other countries in Asia. This is an indication that India is more of a stand alone country in Asia, as the adoption of the iPhone by neighboring Asian countries has had no impact on India whatsoever. It is interesting to know that although near each other, India and other large scale countries like China and Japan do not seem to have significant network connections. India has adopted other cellular devices rather than adopt the cellular device of their neighboring countries. As Apple strives for the world-wide spread of their device, India may be a difficult market to tap into.
Along with the aspect of threshold, we also learned in class how natural boundaries in a network can permit coexistence. In the case of India, it seems that boundaries such as language barriers, political differences, and iPhone pricing has led to boundaries in the network between India and fellow Asian countries. These boundaries in the network have allowed for the coexistence of the iPhone and other smartphones in different Asian countries. While China and many other countries use the iPhone, these boundaries in the network permit India to utilize other smartphones. In order for Apple to tap into India, one thing they could do is to figure out how to manipulate some of these network barriers. By doing this, Apple may be able to utilize the diffusion model to their favor and allow for iPhones to diffuse into India.
Ultimately, it is rather interesting to see how what we learned in INFO 2040 can apply to the world in a large scale sense. The diffusion model and its other features is a very applicable theory that is present in this iPhone situation in India. It will be interesting to see in future years how Apple taps into the India market, and whether they utilize aspects of diffusion to make it happen. I will be paying close attention to Apple in India for the near future.