American multinational financial services corporation Morgan Stanley suggested that India could be Apple's next China as the former is predicted to become the world's second biggest smartphone market as early as next year.

Apple experienced its fastest sales growth by far in China, reporting an 84 percent increase from last year, Quartz reported. According to Apple's CEO Tim Cook, the country is on its way of becoming "Apple's top market in the world."

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However, a new report from Morgan Stanley suggests that Apple could achieve the same success in India, as the country is poised to surpass the US as the second biggest smartphone market after China by 2017. More tech firms such as Google and Facebook have been competing to get its respective products on display across Indian shelves.

According to the report, India's smartphone industry trended almost the same with China's market five to six years ago. For instance, 92 million smartphone units were shipped to China in 2011, while 104 million went to India in 2015.

Moreover, the survey from Morgan Stanley revealed that in November 2009, 4.6 percent of its respondents were iPhone owners, while a similar study conducted in January found that 4 percent of Indians were smartphone owners.

Between 2010 and 2015, Apple's market share climbed to more than 2, 600 yuan ($400) to 74 percent from just 30 percent in China. "We think Apple could repeat its same success in India," Morgan Stanley said on its April 20 findings.

One interesting takeaway of Morgan Stanley's survey of more than 2,600 Indian smartphone buyers is that nearly half do not recognize the brand Apple. In fact, Apple only ranked 10 out of 12 companies in terms of brand awareness.

"This means Apple has the most room for upside as our survey shows it could double share in the $400 [smartphone] segment to 40 pecent," Morgan Stanley said.

But among its respondents who are willing to buy 2, 600 yuan ($400)-plus worth of smartphone, 41 percent said they will opt for an iPhone, as the brand is "aspirational" with pricetags that are not affordable for most Indians.

Furthermore, 21 percent also said they would go for second-hand iPhone rather than buying a non-Apple smartphone, although this would be of less benefit for the company. But report suggests that Apple could still cater to these customers by refurbishing phones for sale in India, according to Quartz.

However, to follow China's same path of success in India, Apple needs to establish more presence in India by opening stores, collaborating with local wireless service providers, ramping more local content and software, and boosting marketing strategies.

Nevertheless, Apple may already be taking its first step as some reports reveal that the company will receive its regulatory approval to open its first retail store in India soon.

Tagsapple, Smartphone, India, china, Morgan Stanley