On the opening day of sale of iPhone 15, the demand for the top end models, iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro Max overshot supplies leading to a waiting period of around 15-20 days.
According to retailers, consumers who had pre-booked these two models, will be able to get their deliveries only by first week of October. Those consumers who booked on Friday will get their deliveries not before October 15-20.
This is the first time that a new range of Apple iPhones have been launched in India on the same day as globally. This is also the first time that the new range of iPhones, which are being retailed in India have also been made in India. However, the Pro and Max models are not being made in the country. The base price of these two models are Rs 134,900 and 159,900 respectively. The topmost variant of Pro Max is priced at 199,900. Apple makes these two models in smaller numbers but their high demand in India show that consumers have become upwardly mobile, analysts said.
Unlike other brands, the launch of Apple phones give retailers a huge push because there are no discounts offered. Apple phones can be bought through its retail stores or through Apple’s online stores and discounts are not offered at either of the points of sale, so there’s no incentive to buy online other than convenience. In the case of other phone brands, 50% sales are through online channels because of the discounts offered. In the case of Chinese brand, Xiaomi, 90% sales are through online.
“Both iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max had limited supply and are currently out of stock at our store,” said an executive at Bengaluru-based smartphone retailer Sangeetha Mobiles. Large retailers like Croma are seeing similar supply crunches for Pro and Pro Max models despite strong pre-bookings.
“Sales of Apple products are booming, particularly of the premium models, with pre-booking numbers significantly higher than previous years,” said Rahul Pai, Director at Bengaluru-based electronics retailer Pai International.
“It’s a bumper harvest for Apple in India. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple’s market share for festive months touching 65-70% in Rs 50,000 segment of the market,” Faisal Kawoosa, chief analyst at Techarc, said.
Several Apple enthusiasts queued up since early morning at its retail stores in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex and in Select CityWalk Mall in Saket, New Delhi to get their hands on iPhone 15 and its Plus, Pro and Pro Max models.