Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

iPhone 4 reportedly resurrected in India to fight Samsung

Published Jan 14th, 2014 6:00AM EST
iPhone 4 Relaunch India

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

Apple will reportedly relaunch the 8GB iPhone 4 in India in the near future, in order to better fight mid-ranged devices from Samsung and other handset makers, The Economic Times reports. The 2010 phone will reportedly be priced at around 15,000 rupees (around $244), significantly lower than its old retail price of 26,500 rupees (around $431). Apple is yet to confirm the move, and it’s not clear when the device will be available in stores again.

The publication says Apple stopped selling the 8GB iPhone 4 model last quarter to drive iPhone 5c sales in the region, although it ended up not having a device priced under 30,000 rupees. “Apple’s iPhone 4 8GB model used to rank amongst the top three selling models by unit sales and fight neck and neck with Samsung, but with its exit the company lost much ground,” a senior executive from a top electronic retail store said. The iPhone 4 used to account for almost 15-20% of sales in the 15,000-20,000 rupees segment, while Samsung took 50% share of that market. Since the iPhone 4 was discontinued, Samsung’s share in the mid-range segment has gone up to 70%.

A report in late November revealed that Apple’s aggressive iPhone trade-in program in India combined with lucrative deals from local operators have helped the company sell more iPhone 5c units in the region.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.