Just weeks after the Indian festive season came to an end, Apple has reduced the cashback offers on its latest iPhone 17 models in a bid to manage supply in India over global constraints. As of now, the instant bank cashback drops from Rs 6,000 to a rather low Rs 1,000, coupled with tweaks to zero-cost EMI schemes. The new move, which is now made official on Apple’s website, comes amid a severe supply shortage that’s affecting the availability of base models.
Launched globally in September, the iPhone 17 series, including the base iPhone 17, Pro, and Pro Max, brought upgrades like nicer displays, better cameras, bold new designs and an entirely new iPhone Air. Made-in-India units of the higher-end Pro variants hit stores around Diwali, addressing the availability issues.
Base iPhone 17 supply affected
However, it is the entry-level iPhone 17 variants (256GB and 512GB models) that have been hit hardest, with retailers reporting only 60% of last year’s iPhone 16 supply. In a statement to Moneycontrol, a Delhi-based retailer said, “Our daily demand is 10–20 units of the iPhone 17 base model, but we are receiving only 6–7 units per week, which is abysmally low.”
Amid the supply chain constraints, Apple is redirecting inventory to the US for Thanksgiving bonanzas and China ahead of Lunar New Year, leaving emerging markets like India in concern. A source to Moneycontrol stated, “There was extra supply for the Diwali season despite the global shortage due to supply-chain issues. Now, other markets are being prioritised where festive cycles are beginning. But the supply situation is expected to stabilise by December.”
Platforms like Flipkart and Amazon are also suffering from the woes as base models are out of stock or listed at premiums. On the other hand, the iPhone 17 Pro variants are present only in limited quantities.
During the company’s recent earnings call, CEO Tim Cook revealed, “iPhone set a revenue record for the September quarter at $49 billion, up 6% year-on-year, with growth in the vast majority of markets we track, despite supply constraints we faced on several iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 models given strong demand.”
“We are constrained by several iPhone 17 models. We’re working very hard to achieve supply-demand balance, but I’m not going to predict when that will happen,” he added. Apple India is yet to publicly comment on the matter.
iPhone 17 price at a glance
The base iPhone 17, which was already priced at Rs 82,900, loses that Rs 5,000 effective discount, pushing effective costs higher. EMI adjustments further take away the affordability factor, with some banks pulling back on no-interest options. The iPhone Air starts at Rs 1,19,900, whereas the iPhone 17 Pro demands up to Rs 1,34,900. The iPhone 17 Pro Max comes with a standard price tag of Rs 1,49,900 for the base 256GB model.
