Apple lifts iPhone prices in India by up to 40%; foldable iPhone Duo debuts at Rs 2,99,900

New Delhi: Apple has sharply increased the prices of its iPhone range in India, with hikes of up to 40 per cent, as it rolled out its newest smartphones and made its debut in the foldable segment with the iPhone Duo, priced from Rs 2,99,900.

The company has pushed the iPhone 17 (256GB) to Rs 99,900 from Rs 82,900, a jump of Rs 17,000 or 20.5 per cent. The 512GB variant now costs Rs 1,24,900, up Rs 22,000 or 21.4 per cent from Rs 1,02,900.

The new iPhone 18 Pro starts at Rs 1,64,900, about 22 per cent higher than the iPhone 17 Pro, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max begins at Rs 1,79,900, a 20 per cent rise.

The steepest increase is for the 1TB iPhone Air, whose price has gone up 40.6 per cent to Rs 2,24,900 from Rs 1,59,900. The 256GB and 512GB iPhone Air models are now 25 per costlier.

Entry-level options have also become more expensive. The iPhone 17e now starts at Rs 79,900, up 23.1 per cent, and the 128GB iPhone 16 is priced at Rs 89,900, a 28.6 per cent increase.

Industry analysts note that the price hikes for Apple’s Pro models in India are far steeper than in many key markets. In the US, for instance, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max have seen increases of around 9 per cent and 8 per cent respectively.

Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint Research, said iPhone prices in India have risen by 20–30 per cent, well above the global average of 8–10 per cent. He cited higher memory costs, a weaker rupee and increased domestic production expenses as key factors. He added that the iPhone Duo could attract an import duty of about 20 per cent since it is not assembled in India.

Prabhu Ram, Head of the Industry Intelligence Group at CyberMedia Research, said the Rs 2,99,900 iPhone Duo creates an ultra-premium tier above the Pro series and is likely to function mainly as a halo product rather than a volume driver in the near term.

He noted that while financing options may help migrate some Pro Max users to the Duo, initial shipments are expected to be modest and supply-constrained. Foldables currently account for less than 1 per cent of smartphone shipments, but Apple’s entry could spur faster growth in the category, he said.

(Inputs from IANS)