In A First, Apple Starts Retailing India-Made iPhones On Launch Day
People queue outside Apple stores in Mumbai and New Delhi to get their hands on Made-in-India iPhone 15s on launch day.
In a first, Apple Inc. started retailing Made-in-India iPhones on the launch day itself, to an overwhelming response from locals.
On Friday, prospective buyers queued outside Apple stores in Mumbai and Delhi from as early as 6 a.m. to get their hands on the new iPhone 15 series, the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, and the new USB Type-C AirPods. Most of them had booked their devices in a pre-launch window that opened on Sept. 15.
“The response has been overwhelming so far,” an India representative for the California-based company told BQ Prime at the Apple store in Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai. “The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus are the fast-moving models, and the Pro models aren’t lagging either.”
Queues outside the Apple store in Mumbai on Friday, Sept. 22. (Source: Vishal Patel/BQ Prime)
This is the first time Apple is retailing locally assembled iPhones in India on the launch day itself. That’s a departure from earlier, when the iPhone used to arrive with a six-week lag, let alone get assembled here.
Foxconn Group Corp., Apple’s largest contract manufacturer, started assembling the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus at its plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai in August itself, as the company sought to swiftly increase the number of new iPhones coming from India.
Apple is on a multi-year project to diversify its manufacturing away from China, de-risking the supply chain for its most important products as tensions between Washington and Beijing make trade less predictable. India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has sought to build closer ties to the U.S. and make itself a manufacturing hub.
Before the iPhone 14, Apple had only a sliver of its iPhone assembly in India, which lagged China's output by six to nine months. That delay was drastically reduced last year, and Apple produced 7% of its iPhones in India at the end of March.
(Source: Vishal Patel/BQ Prime)
(Source: Vishal Patel/BQ Prime)
(Source: Vishal Patel/BQ Prime)
Now, with the iPhone 15, there is parity in shipping timing between India and China. That, however, doesn’t mean preferential pricing for the locally produced models.
Apple remains an aspirational brand in India, and the company doesn’t want to dilute the perception, according to Counterpoint Research.
“Apple is passing down the cost benefit from manufacturing to consumers by reducing the effective price on a regular basis across channels, rather than changing the pricing strategy,” Shilpi Jain, senior research analyst at Counterpoint Research, said earlier.
“For instance, we witnessed more offers on the iPhone 14 from the beginning of this year, which was not the case earlier, as models used to get assembled in India after 5–6 months of launch, while iPhone 14 manufacturing started from the launch month itself.”
“We believe Apple will continue with the same strategy, as it's working well in their favour and the brand image remains premium,” she said.
Prices for the iPhone 15 start at Rs 79,900, while the iPhone 15 Pro models are available for Rs 1.34 lakh. The Watch Series 9 starts at Rs 41,900, while the AirPods cost Rs 20,900 a pop.
