Pre-orders for 'made in India' iPhone 16 surges, set to break export records

NEW DELHI: Apple has seen a surge in pre-orders for its ‘Make in India’ iPhone 16 in the country, as the company gears up to make its latest iPhone line-up available on September 20, trade analysts said on Thursday, adding that the new devices are set to break previous export records.

The ongoing channel checks suggest that iPhone 16 Pro models are also witnessing a strong traction from buyers, owing to its more strategic and accessible pricing, in comparison to the 15 series.

The new iPhones will be available at Apple retail and online stores in India -- Apple BKC (Mumbai) and Apple Saket (New Delhi) - along with the company's authorised sellers, from September 20.

According to Counterpoint Research Director Tarun Pathak, there is a strong pre-order demand for the base iPhone 16 model compared to last year, and with attractive financing options, “the new 16 series is set to break previous records”.

The analysts expect a healthy mix of upgrades this year for Apple in the country. The momentum is great with the government’s thrust on local manufacturing as the iPhone 16 models are being manufactured/assembled in India with simultaneous availability along with global market.

Prabhu Ram, VP-Industry Research Group, CyberMedia Research (CMR), told IANS that Apple is benefiting from the strong tailwinds rising from the premiumisation wave in the Indian smartphone market.

“The older generation iPhone 14 and 13 series will also gain traction in the festive season,” he added.

Apple’s latest iPhone 16 is being produced and launched globally from the Indian factories. Driven by the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, the tech giant reached around $5 billion in iPhone exports from India in the April-August period this fiscal (FY25).

As per industry data, this is a growth of over 50 per cent from the same period of first five months in FY24.

The iPhone 16 Pro series benefits from more strategic and accessible pricing compared to its previous generation. This is expected to drive upgrades in the Indian market, making it more appealing to a wider range of consumers.

Globally, iPhone 16 series first-weekend pre-order sales are estimated at about 37 million units, as per industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Meanwhile, Apple revenues in India are likely to grow 18 per cent (year-on-year) in 2024 and the new iPhone 16 series would help the company further solidify its presence in the country, along with boosting its exports figures.

Apple has 6 per cent share by volume and 16 per cent by value in India. The double-digit growth will continue, with revenues expected to cross the $10 billion mark in 2025 in the country.

The iPhone production in India has gone up from less than 1 per cent in 2017 to 10 per cent in 2023 and plans are to scale it up to 25 per cent of global shipments by 2025, according to global investment firm Jefferies.