MC EXCLUSIVE Indian buyers hit as Apple slashes iPhone 17 cashback offer amid major supply crunch in India

Apple CEO Tim Cook had flagged the ongoing constraints during the company’s recent earnings call.

Apple is sharply cutting bank cashback offers on its new iPhone 17 series — reducing the benefit from Rs 6,000 to just Rs 1,000 — effectively making the latest models more expensive for Indian buyers. The change comes even as the iPhone 17 base model remains largely out of stock or available only in limited quantities across e-commerce platforms and offline retail stores due to a severe global supply shortage.

The revised cashback structure will take effect from November 22, sources told Moneycontrol, adding that zero-cost EMI schemes will also undergo changes.

According to multiple sources, Apple’s decision to reduce cashback is directly linked to ongoing supply-chain constraints that have created a worldwide demand–supply imbalance, including in India. With festive demand rising in key markets such as the US during Thanksgiving sales and in China ahead of the Lunar New Year, Apple is expected to divert more inventory to those regions.

As a result, the base iPhone 17 — especially the 256 GB and 512 GB variants — is facing acute shortages across offline retail channels and on major e-commerce platforms such as Flipkart and Amazon, a Moneycontrol retail check found.

“There was extra supply for the Diwali season despite the global shortage due to supply-chain issues. Now, other markets are being prioritised where festive cycles are beginning. But the supply situation is expected to stabilise by December,” a person familiar with the matter said.

Apple India did not respond to Moneycontrol’s queries. However, the company’s website states: “Apple reserves the right to change these terms and conditions or modify, extend or end the instant cashback offer at any time without notice.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook had flagged the ongoing constraints during the company’s recent earnings call. “iPhone set a revenue record for the September quarter at $49 billion, up 6% year-on-year, with growth in the vast majority of markets we track, despite supply constraints we faced on several iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 models given strong demand,” he said. Cook also attributed revenue declines in Greater China partly to supply shortages.

“We are constrained by several iPhone 17 models. We're working very hard to achieve supply-demand balance, but I’m not going to predict when that will happen,” he added.

Retailers told Moneycontrol that while iPhone 17 Pro models were available from launch until the Diwali season, the base model is now severely constrained. Made-in-India units of the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max reached stores only around Diwali, easing supply for the higher-end variants.

However, retailers say they have received only about 60% of the units they got for the iPhone 16 series during the same period last year, despite increased domestic production.

“Our daily demand is 10–20 units of the iPhone 17 base model, but we are receiving only 6–7 units per week, which is abysmally low,” a Delhi-based retailer said on the condition of anonymity.