Owning an iPhone in India was already unimaginably expensive for many and it looks like the dream is getting farther away, as Apple has decided to stop selling the iPhone 6, 6 Plus and iPhone SE in India.?
The halt to the sale of these old Apple iPhones indicate that buying an overpriced iPhone will get more expensive, since Apple's only focusing on high-end, newer iPhone models going forward.
The iPhone 6 (which was launched in 2014) was being sold at an approximate price of Rs 25,000 onwards, whereas the iPhone 6s (which was launched in 2015) was being sold at approximately Rs 26,000 onwards in the Indian market up until recently.?
You could still manage to get the base iPhone SE for just around Rs 20,000 up until a month ago, but stocks of the device are nowhere to be seen, according to reports.
If you still want to buy an iPhone on a budget you could still find some e-commerce websites selling them. If not, then the cheapest iPhone you can pick in the market is the iPhone 7 (which was launched in 2016) which will cost you around 39,000 onwards. Just to compare, you can buy the latest OnePlus 7 with better memory and storage for that price.?
Apple's sales numbers in India were already not in a good state since the prices of its current generation flagships have been sky-rocketing. The only way someone could afford buying one was through the older models like the iPhone 6, 6s and the iPhone SE.?
"Cupertino does not want Apple India to chase volumes by discounting at the cost of profit," said one leading trade partner of Apple. "These models which are being phased out will increase the average selling price of iPhones in India and boost both profit and revenue."?
Ironically, the iPhone XR is being sold at a great discounted price of Rs 49,999 (with MRP at Rs Rs 76,900) in the ongoing Amazon Prime sale right now.