As Expected, the Offers on ‪‎iPhoneSE‬ have Started!

We have some good news folks – Apple has launched a corporate leasing plan for iPhone SE in India!

What is “Corporate Leasing”? Just a fancy term for offering the iPhone on EMI.

What this means is that all those who’re working for a corporation can now own an iPhone by paying a small monthly fee over a duration of two years. The difference here is that unlike in an EMI scheme, the phone will not belong to you at the end of the lease period.

That’s right. This is a lease, not a purchase. You will have to return the phone to Apple once your lease runs out.

Here’s what the plans will look like:

With Apple really pushing to gain a foothold in the Indian smartphone market, this scheme might just be the eureka moment for them. Things become more interesting when you realise that you don’t have to stick with just one model for the entire duration of the lease program, i.e., two years.

As clarified by The Economic Times: “Corporate users can, at any time, move from one iPhone to another, and pay the change in monthly fee as per the model.”

Apple has launched massive ad campaigns, especially in the print media, to popularise this plan. Displayed under the heading “Moving business forward”, the iPhone is shown running a utility app with spreadsheets displayed prominently.

We think Apple has made a really smart move here. Before it goes after the middle-class market segment, Apple wants the corporate sector firmly in its grip. Given that no single phone in India can be called the “corporate phone,” this scheme might work pretty well!

Several years ago, Research in Motion (RIM) introduced a similar business model for their Blackberry handsets in corporate America. It was quite a success there for two reasons.

1. Everyone at work used the same phone, so you weren’t bothered by compatibility issues.
2. The corporation could easily develop system-wide security features and utility apps for all its employees.

Apple to also launch similar scheme for iPads

We already know that the Pro versions of the iPad are heavy duty machines with some serious computing power. They have the capability to be PC replacements, especially if you’re mostly using spreadsheets, powerpoints, and emails at work

However, the business sector in India is predominantly reliant on PCs. Here, Apple has an even smaller market share than it does in the smartphone category. So if it does bring a lease-based scheme for iPads, it will be interesting to see what the prices will be like and how well the offer will take off.

In the meantime, what do you feel about the corporate leasing scheme for iPhone SE? On our part, we’re extremely biased against the 16GB models and don’t feel it should be worth either your time or consideration. However, the plan looks quite viable for the other models.

Would you consider it? Do you think this scheme is going to be a success? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below …