Apple is cutting production of the standard iPhone 17 for the Indian market after a price hike of more than 20% last month. Many price-conscious buyers now pause purchases as demand weakens. "The capacity will be redirected for exports as demand outside India remains strong," said a person privy.
Synopsis
Apple is cutting production of the standard iPhone 17 for the Indian market following a more than 20% price increase, as demand weakens despite strong overseas sales. The company plans to redirect capacity towards exports, while demand for iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro models remains firm. Rising component costs, a weaker rupee and higher prices have prompted some Indian consumers to defer purchases or consider older and refurbished iPhones.
Apple is cutting India-bound production of the standard iPhone 17 due to a lack of demand since a price hike of more than 20% last month, even as exports of the model remain robust, people aware of the details told ET. "The capacity will be redirected for exports as demand outside India remains strong, so the overall production will have a marginal impact," said a person privy to the details.
Meanwhile, demand for Pro models of iPhone 17 and the recently launched iPhone 18 remain strong in India, a second executive said.
"The company keeps adjusting production depending on demand... Last year also, iPhone Air production was reduced," the person said. "The production can be increased also as these things are part of manufacturing operations and capacity is utilised accordingly."
Apple did not respond to a query seeking comment until press time on Friday.
Live Events
ET had earlier reported about Apple's plan to expand capacity for the Pro models to nearly a dozen assembly lines, depending on global demand.
The cut can be termed unprecedented as the company shifts its launch cycle. Last month, the company launched Pro models of iPhone 18 along with a new foldable Duo but there was no consumer model, which makes iPhone 17 the latest standard variant available in the market. In India, around 85% of iPhones sold are consumer models.
Indian buyers have traditionally lapped up older iPhones after the launch of newer models as prices of earlier devices were cut. This year, however, Apple increased prices of existing iPhone models by 20-29% in India amid rising memory and component costs and weakening rupee.
Consumers Deferring Purchases
The standard iPhone 17 now costs ₹99,900, up 20.5% from its launch price of ₹82,900, for the 256GB variant.
This made the model less attractive to price-conscious buyers, industry experts said. Response to lucrative promotional offers during the ongoing festive season has also remained lacklustre, they added.
Retailers told ET that some consumers are deferring purchases in expectation that the iPhone 18 will be launched in February with similar pricing to the iPhone 17.
Meanwhile, many users are shifting to Pro models of iPhone 17 during the festive sales by shelling out ₹15,000-25,000 more than for the base model.
With iPhone 18 Pro seeing strong demand, analysts expect the share of Pro models in overall iPhone sales may touch 20% in the coming months, up from around 15% now. Due to high prices, users are also shifting to refurbished and older models like iPhone 16.
While the consumer models enjoy more share than Pro models globally too, the divide is not as wide as is the case in India, an industry executive said.
"However, now India also is shifting towards Pro models and the gap between consumer and Pro models will be reducing," the person added.
One retailer, however, said the current spurt in demand could be due to lucrative discounts on iPhone 17 Pro models in ongoing festive sales. "iPhone 17 Pro models will be sold till the stocks last. The real appetite for Pro will be known later," he said.
Apple typically stops production of older Pro models when the new variant is launched while manufacturing of consumer models continues along with new variants, depending on demand.
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)
Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.
...moreless
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)
Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.