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Apple, which faces an antitrust lawsuit in India, breathed a sigh of relief.

According to Reuters on August 13, India's antitrust agency has ordered the recall of two reports detailing Apple's alleged violations of competition law. According to reports, a previous confidential document showed that Apple complained to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that the commercial secrets contained in its reports were leaked to its competitors, including Tinder's parent company Match, and Apple asked the regulator to "recall and withdraw" these reports.

The investigation reportedly focuses on Apple's alleged abuse of its dominant position in the app market, forcing developers to use its proprietary in-app purchase system and charging up to 30% (the "Apple tax"). The case began in 2021 and has been delayed several times. The Indian authorities' recall will undoubtedly continue to prolong Apple's antitrust investigation.

According to Apple, the version of the report shared with various parties leaked "Apple's confidential commercially sensitive information", which Apple did not specify. But a source with direct knowledge of the matter pointed out that Apple's Indian App Store revenue and market share data are related to this. The companies currently being asked to return the report include Match and Indian startup group ADIF, which is backed by financial giant Paytm.

It is worth mentioning that one of Apple's claims is that it is small in the Indian market, where mobile phones using Google's Android system dominate. According to the latest "Global Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker Report" released by International Data Corporation (IDC), Apple smartphones rank sixth in the local market in terms of market share, with a market share of 6.7% in 2024. Ahead of Apple are vivo, Xiaomi, Samsung, realme and OPPO.

Screenshot of IDC report on India’s smartphone market in the first half of 2024

The report shows that the Indian smartphone market shipped 69 million smartphones in the first half of 2024, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%. In the second quarter of 2024, its market shipped 35 million smartphones, a year-on-year increase of 3.2%. "Although this is the fourth consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth in shipments, sluggish consumer demand and rising average selling prices continue to limit a rapid recovery."

Chinese brands are more competitive in the entry-level to mid-to-high-end market. However, in the ultra-high-end market segment in India (products priced above $800), Apple leads with an 83% share. Data shows that iPhone 15/15 Plus/14/14 Plus together account for 77% of shipments. The ultra-high-end market in India maintained a 22% increase, and its share of the entire market increased from 6% to 7%.

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