Apple's latest offering 5c is 'too highly priced' for emerging markets like India, aiding iPhone 4s to be the volume driver, research firm Gartner said on Thursday However, the firm said, in mature markets like the US and Europe the price difference between the iPhone 5c and 5s is not enough. “In emerging markets, the iPhone 4S will continue to be the volume driver at the low end as the lack of subsidy in most markets leaves the iPhone 5c too highly priced to help drive further penetration,” Gartner said. Apple did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on the issue. In India, Apple is selling 16 GB iPhone 5c at Rs41,900 and 32 GB variant at Rs 53,500, while, iPhone 5s is available at Rs53,500 (16GB), Rs63,500 (32 GB) and Rs71,500 (64 GB). “Gartner believes the price difference between the iPhone 5c and 5s is not enough in mature markets, where prices are skewed by operator subsidies, to drive users away from the top of the line model,” it added.
A contract-free and unlocked 16GB version of the iPhone 5c is available for $549 (about Rs34,700) in the US, while an unlocked and contract-free iPhone 5s can be bought for $649 (about Rs41,000). In the July-September quarter of 2013, Apple's smartphone sales reached 30.3 million units, up 23.2 per cent from the same quarter of 2012. “While, the arrival of the new iPhones 5s and 5c had a positive impact on overall sales, such impact could have been greater had they not started shipping late in the quarter,” Gartner said.