Well, you are not the only one excited about the launch of the iPhone 17 series. There are just 4 days remaining for one of the biggest events in the tech industry. There are rumours and leaks about all four devices that Apple is expected to launch, which have revealed almost everything about these devices. However, since the most important aspect that tech-enthusiasts and buyers are interested in is the prices of the devices. The iPhone 17 launch event will be livestreamed on Apple’s YouTube and other social media channels on 9 September at 10:30 PM IST. The event is also expected to reveal the Apple Watch Series 11 and possible updates to the Apple AirPods. You can also expect Apple to tease updates for the iPad, family, and maybe even tease the next generation of MacBook powered by the M5 chipset. As per TechArc, the base model of iPhone 17 series is expected to start at around Rs 86,000.
An analysis of iPhones launch prices in India in relation to the US$ versus INR (₹) exchange value suggests a strong positive correlation between the two. This trend is likely to continue even though this time Apple will be introducing Made in India iPhone at the time of launch. Earlier, Apple would import the latest generation of iPhones and later start manufacturing them in India.
While Apple will not import CBUs or Completely Built Units, the components still require to be imported like other smartphone OEMs. This is where the dollar-rupee exchange rate has a bearing on the manufacturing cost and plays a factor in determining the cost of an iPhone.
Projecting the price of upcoming iPhone 17 series:
“Projecting the price of upcoming iPhone 17 series, we estimate the base model to start from Rs 86,000 if Apple continues to increase the price on the existing annual average rate. However, there has been a 5% depreciation in average exchange value of Indian rupee versus US$ in 2025 over last year, which Apple might have to factor in increasing the launch price beyond Rs 86,000,”
Over these years, the launch price of base model of iPhone has more than doubled up from Rs 31,000 to Rs 79,900. For the same period, the 1USD=₹ has also showed similar increase from Rs 43.5 to Rs 83.7 as of 2024.
The annual average launch price of iPhone has gone up by 7.6%:
The annual average launch price of iPhone has gone up by 7.6% while the ₹/$ equation has changed 5.2% with the rupee weakening over these years. Factoring the rupee-dollar fluctuation, the absolute average annual increase in iPhone prices over these years has been a modest 2.4%.
iPhone still remains and will continue to remain a flagship premium smartphone which may never become a mass phone in India at least in the visible future.
“At Techarc we have already estimated that once iPhone shipments hit 15 million mark in India, it will see a flattened market for next 3-5 years after which it will see the next cycle of growth. In all optimistic and best case scenario for Apple in India, iPhone could hit a maximum 12-15% of market by volume, which is not a small achievement by any means. From mere 1-1.5% market share reaching this level would be a phenomenal growth for iPhone in India. Considering the macro-economic conditions of India, we could be seeing iPhone hitting this plateau in sales by 2030-33, after which it will have to wait another 3-5 years for the next cycle of growth in volume sales,” Faisal Kawoosa, chief analyst at TechArc noted.
The iPhone 17 Pro’s starting price would increase by $100 compared to the iPhone 16 Pro. However, previous rumors have indicated that the iPhone 17 Pro will start with 256GB of storage, whereas the iPhone 16 Pro starts at 128GB.
