March 22: In the last one year, the iPhone market has almost doubled in Nepal.

It has been found that the iPhone market increased in Nepal when the government banned the import of expensive phones. Although the import of expensive mobile phones has been stopped in Nepal, the market of Apple, which is considered an expensive brand, has increased by 6 percentage points in one year.

Apple's market share, which was only 6.39 percent in March last year, has almost doubled to around 12 percent within a year.

In the last nine months alone, Apple has increased its market share by almost 5 percentage points to 11.77 percent.

When the government banned the import of expensive mobile phones, Apple's mobile phones priced below $600 were not available in the Nepali market. However, Apple's smartphone sales have increased after the government lifted the import ban from last January. In the last three months alone, Apple has increased its market share by about three percentage points.

The market share of Apple, which sells mobile phones ranging from Rs 85,000 to Rs 350,000 in the Nepali market, has increased at a time when the economic condition of the country is not so encouraging.

Apple’s market was rising constantly even when the economy was shrinking and the government had imposed a ban on import of expensive phones, cars and alcohol. Apple's market continues to rise after the government lifted the import ban.

According to the iPhone dealers, the sale of iPhone-14 in Nepal has increased rapidly. Businessmen say  that after the increase in the sale of iPhone-14 series phones, priced from a minimum of Rs  155,000 to a maximum of Rs 350,000, its share in the Nepali market has doubled within a year.

If there was no import ban, the market share of Apple phones in Nepal would reach around 15 percent, one businessman claimed.

Users who have used iPhone once have a habit of buying the new series of phones as soon as they are released. Even though Apple's market share has increased in Nepal, businessmen say that it is the old users who are buying new phones rather than the new customers.

Samsung also has more than a dozen models of expensive phones ranging from Rs 58,000 to Rs 245,000 in the Nepali market. However, while Samsung's market is going down, Apple is making leaps and bounds day by day.

Samsung's market share has now dropped to 27 percent. It was 31 percent a year ago. Apple seems to have taken over Samsung's declining market share.

Apple's tablet business, which was 29.49 percent in February last year, has increased by 17 percent to 46.54 percent in one year. Samsung has also lost a large market in Tab. The market share of Samsung tablets, which was more than 64 percent a year ago, is now limited to 43.82 percent. In a period of one year, Samsung has also lost 20 percent market share in Tab.

Even in global competition, the market share of Apple Tab is 51.26 percent. The global market share of Samsung Tab is 31.21 percent. Apple's global market share in mobile phones is 27.11 percent, while Samsung's is 26.74 percent.

According to the data of the Department of Customs, over 1.1 million smartphones worth Rs 14.76 billion were imported into Nepal between last July to January. Since the government opened up imports from December 16 last year, 201,000 smartphones entered the market in just two months.