The hike was announced by Apple after the Indian government increased the custom duty on phones brought from outside India. The duty, which was earlier 10 per cent, has been increased to 15 per cent. Apple said that the prices of the iPhone SE would not be increased because the iPhone SE has been assembled in Indian by Wistron since June 2017. The iPhone SE can be nowadays found in the market a price of around Rs 20,000 and chances are that its selling price will remain the same.
The new prices, effective from December 18 that is today, are:
iPhone 6 32 GB: Rs 30780
iPhone 6s 32 GB: Rs 41,550
iPhone 6s 128 GB: Rs 50,660
iPhone 6s Plus 32 GB: Rs 50,740
iPhone 6s Plus 128 GB: Rs 59,860
iPhone 7 32 GB: Rs 50,810
iPhone 7 128 GB: Rs 59,910
iPhone 7 Plua 32 GB: Rs 61,060
iPhone 7 Plus 128 GB: Rs 70,180
iPhone 8 64 GB: Rs 66,120
iPhone 8 256 GB: Rs 79,420
iPhone 8 Plus 64 GB: Rs 75,450
iPhone 8 Plus 256 GB: Rs 88,750
iPhone X 64 GB: Rs 92,430
iPhone X 256 GB: Rs 1,05,720
It is important to keep in mind that the price increase is on the MRP of the phones. It is possible the iPhone sellers may absorb the hike and keep the price at the same level where they are right now. Also, it is worth remembering that iPhones are usually not sold at MRP in the market. Usually they are available at slightly discounted prices, except in the special cases like that of the iPhone X. In other words, even though the prices have gone up you may not see the price increase in the market.
Given the price increase, the question comes about the iPhones and are they worth buying at new prices or not. As noted earlier, the price of the iPhones is not likely to change. It is more of a change on paper in MRP. But even if the prices of the iPhones go up, the increase is fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The India Today Tech recommendations for the various iPhone variants remain same. Essentially, what we suggest right now is that the iPhone SE for under around Rs 20,000 is worth buying. And then there are the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X that are worth buying, even at their increased prices. In between, the iPhone 6, the iPhone 6S and the iPhone 7 and their Plus versions are no longer the recommended buy.
As far as the review is concerned, here is what we said about the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus:
Buy the iPhone 8 or the iPhone 8 Plus because they are the complete package for most people. They have a killer screen, fun cameras (only the iPhone 8 Plus), decent battery life, fantastic performance and dependable aftersales support... They are just solid, dependable phones for most people.
As for the iPhone X, the India Today Tech review said:
This is the best iPhone Apple has ever made. I am mostly an Android user, and yet I can see that this phone is in a league of its own. The hardware is superlatively good. The software is good enough. If you are going to spend Rs 70,000 or more on a phone, ensure you spend it on the iPhone X. It's that good.
Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported that Pankaj Mohindroo, president of the Indian Cellular Association, said the custom duty hike would boost domestic manufacturers who were making around 500 million cellphones a year. The Indian government also believes that the custom duty hike will help Make In India programme.
Apple is the first company to formally announce an increase in the prices of its phones, and it is possible that more companies will follow. The hike in the custom duty also means that even if companies don't increase the prices of the existing phones, in future the updates or newer variants of some of the high-end phones such as the OnePlus 5T and Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 that are not manufactured in India may cost more.
