Why Price drop? In the universe of technology everything changes at the drop-of-a-hat. There is no day, that passes without us hearing about a new product in tech. Which is for good. There are people who wait 6 hours in the queue to get their hands on a new phone, and there are some who patiently wait for the price drop. I am sure most of us belong to the second category.
And this season is for those who waited. This season is the spring of smartphones, the old ones got antiquated and leave the way to fresh ones, it’s the last quarter of 2015. It is also spring for those who resisted the temptation of new products. New mobile phones release every year, all days. Some hits and many misses. Some best sellers and some worst. Some people buy and some wait, but we never get satisfied. Because, in the field of technology, there’s always a better one tomorrow.
Average selling price: A report from Statista concluded that the ASP (Average Selling Price) of an Android device in 2014 is 254$ (~Rs. 18,000/-.) which is 22$ down from the previous year. This is due to the tough competition in the market. The new smartphone manufacturers like Xiaomi and Micromax have a very low margin on their products by offering them for low prices, which affects the giants like Samsung and HTC’s. These are not the only reasons, though. The competitive pricing by online retailers is another.
The iPhones, on the other hand still have the similar ASP as the previous years or even a bit more. That is due to the low competition in the premium level smartphones.
As you can see from the above chart, the price gap between iPhone and Android is widening each year. In a way, it is actually good for mid-level customers, as they can get a high-end product for a low price. That is the reason we see the devices like Moto G, Moto X and OnePlus Two being priced low. And as we have reported earlier, it is the same reason why the prices of Samsung phones drop up to 40% within a year of release.
The phones of 2015 that become more affordable:
There were a number of great phones released in 2015 so far. And they costed as high as Rs. 60,000/- when released. But now they cost at least 25-30% less. Here are a few phones which got a huge price cut.
- iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus – Announced in India for Rs. 56,000/- and Rs. 65,000/- for the 16 GB Model respectively, these phones have received almost 20% price cut till date and it is expected to drop more due to the next iPhone release. Now the iPhone 6 can be purchased for Rs. 43,000/- and the 6 Plus at Rs. 53,000/- through online retailers.
- Nexus 6 – The Nexus 6 was released in India for a whopping Rs. 44,000 and now you can get it for as low as Rs. 30,000/-.
- Samsung Phones – As we have mentioned, we could almost say Samsung is the king of price drops. The Galaxy S6 was Rs. 48,000 when announced, and now it costs Rs. 39,000 /-. And the Note 4, which was released for Rs. 60,000/- is now being sold at Rs. 41,000/-.
- Moto G and Moto X – Unlike Samsung, Motorola learned from their mistakes quickly. The new Moto devices cost very less with good specs and they almost are the best selling phones in India. The 2nd Gen. Moto G is now selling at Rs. 10,000 /-. which is 3k down from the original price. The 2nd Gen. Moto X was announced in India for Rs. 32,000/- and now it costs Rs. 22,000/-.
These are some major devices that received the price cut. The other devices include HTC One M8 and M9, Nexus 5, Xiaomi Mi4, Mi4i and Micromax Canvas devices.
As the next generation devices are standing in line to be revealed soon, we can expect the prices of these phones to go down further. So, everything being said, you can wait a bit and get the phone for a lower price. However, if you are waiting for a huge price drop, you have to keep on waiting. If time is money, would you keep on waiting?
Leave a Comment