Apple shipped 2.5 million iPhones in India last year, followed by Samsung, Vivo, Xiaomi and Lenovo

Apple has been going through rough waters for a quite a few years now. However, it looks like the struggle is now over, as a report by the Counterpoint research data suggests that Apple sold 2.5 million units in India last year, which is way more as compared to the past few years. The credit for the rise in sale apparently goes to iPhone 7.

According to what the reports reveal, Q4 of 2016 shows that Apple did attain 62% of the premium smartphone shipments in India, followed by Samsung capturing just 24% and then comes Vivo with 10%, and Xiaomi and Lenovo with 9% each.

In the past few years, Apple struggled to make much progress in the Indian smartphone space. The key reason behind the challenge was the high price tag of the iPhones. That being the reason, Tim Cook visited India early last year, and showed interest in manufacturing iPhones locally, in order to cut down on the price and making it available at a much lower cost.

On Apple's manufacturing unit to be up in Bangalore, the latest report suggests that the Apple will set up its manufacturing unit at Bengaluru and start manufacturing iPhone locally, beginning April. Hence, after the local manufacturing starts, predictions are such that Apple may further improve its sales in India.

SEE ALSO: Why Apple wants to manufacture iPhones in India

Furthermore, Apple's Taiwanese manufacturing partner Wistron is prepping up to set up a plant at Peenya in Bangalore to manufacture or assemble iPhones. However, Tim Cook headed company hasn't commented anything on the same as of now.

Moving ahead, reports further claim that Apple's first official Indian manufacturer could be put to work on 2017 iPhone models and hence the company might skip the previously launched handsets.