Samsung is the current smartphone market leader in India. The company offers many different handsets to cater to the high-, mid- and low-end market. Samsung isn't shy about flooding the market in terms of the choices it offers its customers. Apple, on the other hand, has focused on the high-end market while offering previous models like the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 to the mid- and low-end market.

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A soon-to-be released report by IDC shows that Apple has overtaken BlackBerry in the number two spot it held behind Samsung in terms of smartphone market share, according to The Economic Times. Apple can attribute that success to how it launched the iPhone 5 in India, compared to how it launched previous iPhones in the country. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook was quoted six months ago as saying that "India did not have high potential in the immediate term."

Major changes can happen in six months and so Apple changed its view of the Indian market. It decided to quickly launch the iPhone 5 in India almost immediately after the global launch of the smartphone in September. Apple's decision to launch the iPhone 5 in India earlier than it had done with previous iPhone models made all the difference.

Apple knocked BlackBerry out of the number 2 position it had held in India, behind Samsung. Samsung took 38.8 percent of smartphone market share in India in Q4 2012, followed by Apple with 15.6 percent, Sony with 9.4 percent, Nokia with 7.3 percent and Micromax with 6.5 percent.

Apple plans on increasing that number when it launches a lower-priced iPhone rumored to launch in the next few months. Apple plans on releasing multiple iPhones per year instead of the one per year it has been following since the launch of the original iPhone in 2006. Apple clearly has Samsung in its sights and believes by offering a lower-priced iPhone and a more aggressive launch cycle it will begin to close in on Samsung — not only in India, but globally.

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