The wait for iPhone 6 has ended with Apple’s latest phone scheduled to debut in India midnight tonight (Thursday). Considering the frenzy among iPhone lovers and the record number of pre-bookings, Apple Inc. and its channel partners have made elaborate preparations to ensure delivery of phones in the midnight, the first time done in India to replicate the global practice associated with iPhones.
Reportedly Apple has shipped 55,000 iPhone 6s to India for the pre-Diwali launch. An email to Apple remained unanswered. The company, as a matter of policy, does not disclose sales numbers, said its channel partners.
Till filing of this report, iPhone 6 was yet to make its debut. However, leading mobile phone retailers said they had witnessed overwhelming response for the ‘iconic’ phone.
“The response has been outstanding and unprecedented. We have not seen such frenzy for any other phone from any other company. Many of our customers have made full payment during pre-booking and most of them have preferred to take delivery in the midnight for the thrill associated with the iconic product,” said Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO, The Mobile Store, one of the largest iPhone distributors in India.
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which come in three variants each, are priced in the range of Rs.53,500 and Rs.80,500.
“The frenzy for iPhone 6 is due to two main reasons. This model has got into large screen for the first time, the size of a phablet and its different unique shape, completely different from the normal rectangular shape of an iPhone,” said an analyst.
Apple’s channel partners said maximum iPhones were pre-booked from Delhi, followed by Mumbai.
“There is 20 per cent more demand from Delhi than Mumbai,” a channel partner said. The phone was launched in the U.S. nearly a month ago and some passionate lovers of iPhone have already imported iPhone 6 to India and have started displaying their new possession on their social media status.
Anticipating the rush for iPhones, Apple’s rivals Samsung, BlackBerry, Sony, LG and Motorola had recently launched their latest models of high end smart phones in India.
