India has to wait till October 17 for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus

Apple fans in India will have to wait for a month more than their US counterparts for the snazzy iPhone 6 and its superior cousin iPhone 6 Plus. The smartphones will go on sale in India on 17 October, according to the Apple India website.

Initially, the India launch for the two smartphones was scheduled for 26 September, just a week after the US launch on 19 September.

In India, people have been shifting in droves to smartphones. India has been the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market since the end of 2013, and the third-largest by sales – behind China and the United States. But so far, Apple has been pushed further and further to the periphery of the smartphone buzz in India. That’s partly because its iPhones had stuck to a 4-inch screen during a period when people were drawn to larger screens. From 2007 – when the first iPhone was launched – to now, the average smartphone screen has grown from 2.59 inches to 4.86 inches.

With screen sizes of 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches for the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple has removed one differentiator that rivals like Samsung enjoyed. But Apple targets a premium segment and India seems low down on its priority list, because there is still such a big lag time before a new Apple product appears on these shores. What could happen, however, is that the earlier versions of iPhones will see a substantial reduction in prices to help Apple clear the inventory before the iPhone 6 arrives in India. This would indirectly increase Apple’s presence in the mid segment.

See: Apple’s big reveal recap: the Apple Watch, two iPhone 6 flavors, and Apple Pay

There’s no word yet on the pricing of the two new iPhone variants in India. In the US, iPhone 6 starts at US$199 (INR 12,117) for a two year contract, going up to US$299 (INR 18,206) and US$399 (INR 24,295). iPhone 6 Plus starts at US$299 for 16GB of storage space on a two-year contract, followed by US$399 for 64GB, and US$499 (INR 30,384) for 128GB. These prices are subsidized by carriers, and the actual unlocked prices in the US start from US$649 (INR 39,517) for the iPhone 6 and US$749 (INR 45,606) for the iPhone 6 Plus.

Going by earlier experience, the India price is likely to be US$50-100 (INR 3,041-6,083) above the unlocked price in the US. But to a small elite band of the market in India, it’s the cache and exclusivity of the latest iPhone that matters more than price and immediate availability. In fact, such customers are likely to import the new iPhones even before they become available here.

As for the bulk of India’s smartphone consumers, they are spoilt for choice. Disruptive phone-makers like Xiaomi have captured the imagination of India’s aspirational buyers as well with top-of-the-line specs offered at aggressive budget-like prices. Of course, apples can’t be compared to oranges, and for some, nothing but the unique Apple experience will do. For those who pack a Macbook and iPad with their iPhone, there is also the Apple Watch and Apple Pay to add on now.