VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese like Apple products, especially iPhones. But some of the models are not popular in Vietnam.

“Apple is a big name. Its design and appearance look luxurious. Therefore, it is favored by Vietnamese, who just want the product which can help them show off, rather than the product which can help fulfill their work,” a branding expert said.

“This explains why many Vietnamese buy iPhones, even though they never intend to learn about the features of the smartphone and they just send messages and make calls with the iPhones,” he said. 

Vietnamese like Apple products, especially iPhones. But some of the models are not popular in Vietnam.

On May 12, iPhone SE officially hit the shelves at authorized retail chains in Vietnam. The prices are VND11.5 million for 16GB version and VND14.5 million for 64GB version. The sales, say authorized dealers, have been going slowly. 

Two months ago, when the first iPhone SE appeared on the market (the products were brought to Vietnam through unofficial channels), it caused disappointment to Vietnamese Apple fans because it looked like iPhone 5.

An iPhone user said he did not intend to buy iPhone SE, because his friends may think he uses an outdated iPhone 5.

The owner of a smartphone shop on Thai Ha commented that iPhone SE has not been welcomed in Vietnam because ‘it is not expensive’.

The same situation was seen some years ago with iPhone 5C. The mid-end model was neglected by Vietnamese the day it came out because it did not show the ‘Apple class’.

While Vietnamese were indifferent to iPhone SE and iPhone 5C because of their low prices, they are eager for yellow iPhone 5S and rose gold iPhone 6S though they have sky-high prices.

In foreign markets, the same prices are applied to products with different colors. In Vietnam, the color can determine the selling price. 

Only iPhone 5S has the yellow color, while rose gold can be seen on iPhone 6S only. Therefore, the colors bear high brand identification and are more favored by Vietnamese.

Nguyen Huy from a mobile shop chain on Thai Ha street in Hanoi said that since iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus have designs similar to the previous generations, users find it difficult to differentiate them if they are yellow, silver or grey. 

“However, if you have a rose gold iPhone, people will immediately say this must be an iPhone 6S. This is the reason to choose a rose gold iPhone 6S,” he explained.

Dat Viet