iPhone 15 draws interest but high price of Made-in-India phone a letdown for customers

Apple aims to cut its dependency on China, particularly amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Amid all the excitement around the company’s mega launch event in the US, enquiries have started pouring in at Apple’s stores in India for the new iPhone, pre-booking for which opens on September 15.

The Apple stores in Mumbai and Delhi have already started making plans for September 22, when the iPhone 15 will be made available to customers.

“We have received a lot of interest and people came to our store to take a look at the iPhone 15 models. Customers wanted to try out the phone, and get the look and feel of the product. But the new models are not available at the store currently,” said an employee at the BKC Apple store in Mumbai.

The employee added that along with customers, the team at the store is excited as iPhone 15 is the first product launch after Apple opened its own stores in India. Team members at the BKC store organised watch parties for the US launch on September 12.

Also read: Apple iPhone15 will remain pricey in India but expect discount on older models

Customer interest

Moneycontrol visited the Apple stores in Mumbai and Delhi to gauge interest among customers for the new models.

A customer who visited the store in Mumbai wanted to check out the titanium finish of the iPhone 15 models. “I have been an Apple fan. When the product (iPhone 15) launched, I decided to come and take a look. If it fits my budget I will switch to the new one. We have been an Apple family forever and we are definitely excited about the new one,” the customer said.

Like Mumbai, many customers in Delhi too were excited about the titanium finish on the iPhone 15.

"I might consider buying the iPhone 15 Pro just for the titanium finish. There is nothing much that I am excited about apart from the titanium look," said a customer at the Saket store in Delhi.

Also read: Apple to produce iPhone 15 Plus from next quarter in India; imports to meet festive demand

Another customer at the Saket store was happy about the shift to USB-C charging. “I watched Apple's iPhone 15 launch event last night and I am really excited about the iPhone 15 Pro for the titanium finish and, of course, for the USB C charging feature. It certainly makes life much easier,” said Tenzin, who had bought an iPhone 13 from the Apple Saket store.

iPhone 15 has some major upgrades in the processor, cameras, and so on, noted Abhinav Ranjan Jha, a technology content creator. “It has the universally accepted USB Type C (phone charging feature), which will make the user experience more convenient. Also, an action button has been connected to shortcuts to apps, which has opened the door to endless actions that can be performed using just our index finger. The new A17 pro chip, which is highly efficient will take gaming experience to the next level,” he said.

Tejas Patil, another technology content creator, noted that the iPhone 15 Pro Max is capable of running console games natively, making it attractive for gaming enthusiasts.

Also read: Importing iPhone 15 from abroad? Here's what it will cost you

Pricing pangs

While the major upgrades are drawing the attention of customers, some are not happy with the pricing of the new series.

"The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro are really expensive in India despite the iPhone 15 being made in the country. I might just ask my relatives in the US to ship it to me. It is really disappointing that the price for the iPhone 15 didn't come down despite being manufactured in India. Some benefit in terms of pricing should have been given to the customers in India,” Tenzin said.

Another customer, Anupam Jain, who visited the Apple Saket store, said that he was not very excited about the iPhone 15. “It is too expensive and nothing much has changed apart from a better camera and a few features.” Asked if he would upgrade to an iPhone 15, Jain said he wouldn't.

Since it is made in India, there were a lot of expectations that the iPhone 15 would be cheaper. “People expected the pricing to be lower this year. But I think Apple played a smart move by not increasing the price,” said Patil.

Also read: Smartphone sales likely to remain subdued in festive season despite 5G push, Cricket World Cup

The iPhone 15 starts from Rs 79,900 in India, which is similar to the launch price of the iPhone 14, noted Ankit Kothari, Co-Founder and director, Whatnot Group, a tech and gadget marketplace. This (not being much higher than the iPhone 14) could make the iPhone 15 more attractive to a wider range of consumers in India, he opined.

The employee at the Mumbai store earlier said some customers have been waiting for the iPhone 15 since they feel that at a similar price, they can get an upgraded version.

Apple will have opportunities to selectively run promotions and pass on discounts during the festive seasons directly or indirectly in the form of bundling with other offerings, noted Neil Shah, Partner and co-founder at Counterpoint Research. "This could be on newer models or maybe on the previous generation models."

Experts note that Apple's strategy of assembling in India was never about selling phones at a lower price point but about establishing India as an export hub for Apple.

Also read: Apple unveils titanium-finish iPhone 15; vows to go carbon neutral by 2030

The iPhone 15 series being ‘made in India’ won’t have a direct impact right ‘off the bat’ to stimulate demand for Apple, Shah said. “This will be impactful once Apple starts saving substantially as a net of import duties and cost of manufacturing and managing the new supply chain in India. For now, we will continue to see strong interest and aspirations to own the Pro series,” he said.