Apple iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus launched in India: New iPhones go on sale; price, exchange discounts, buyback offers

The next generation of iPhones was launched in India today. Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were launched by Akash Ambani, scion of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, at Reliance Jio headquarters in Navi Mumbai. Both the smartphones will go on sale from 6:00 pm today, right after the pre-bookings for the devices close. Apple has launched iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in 64 GB and 256 GB variants in Space Grey, Gold and Silver. The 64 GB variant of Apple iPhone 8 will be available at Rs 64,000 and the 256 GB variant will be sold at Rs 77,000. For Apple iPhone 8 Plus, the 64 GB variant will come with a price tag of Rs 73,000 and the 256 GB variant will cost Rs 86,000.

Pre-bookings for the Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus began a week earlier on September 22 across various online and offline channels. Pre-booked Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will be delivered from September 29 onwards. The Cupertino tech giant will market its new iPhones via online shopping platforms as well as brick and mortar stores. The new Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will be available at online shopping platforms Amazon India, Flipkart, and Infibeam. Also, after a partnership between Apple and Reliance, Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are also being sold through Reliance Jio's website and Reliance Jio stores. Reliance Jio is also offering deals and special recharge offers on purchasing Apple iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus from one of its channels.

Apart from this, buyers can also visit one of the stores of Redington India, Croma, or other leading electronics retail chains to buy the new iPhones.

Buyers can opt for a buyback offer from Jio for Rs 99 while buying Apple iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus which allows them to have 70 per cent of the cost of the back after 12 months. This offer, however, will be applicable only if the buyer uses a Jio SIM card.

Reliance Jio has also offered a Rs 799 plan for both postpaid and prepaid users who buy Apple iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 PLus. Jio subscribers can either enter a 12-month contract where they purchase the Rs 799 pack every month for a year, or pay Rs 9,588 for an annual subscription. The plan will offer 3 GB 4G data, along with free voice calls and unlimited tex messages, along with access to all Jio applications. For prepaid Jio users, the 12-month contract will come with validity period of 28 days, whereas for postpaid users it will be according to their bill cycle.

Flipkart is offering an exchange offer for new Apple iPhone 8 models, which promises additional exchange values up to 12 per cent on previous flagship smartphones like Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s, OnePlus 3T, and others. The e-commerce giant is also offering no cost EMIs, beginning from Rs 5,334 per month.

Amazon India is also offering exchange discounts up to Rs 16,500 on the new iPhones, along with EMI options beginning from Rs 3,043 per month.

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Featuring the new glass and aluminium design, Apple claims that the new iPhones have been made from the most durable glass ever in a smartphone. Continuing with the 4.7inch display on the iPhone 8 and 5.5inch display on the iPhone 8 Plus, both the smartphones feature Retina HD display with True Tone to adjust the white balance of the display to match the surrounding light. The iPhones have also got the redesigned speakers which are up to 25 per cent louder and deliver better bass.

The new iPhones are powered by A11 Bionic chipset that features a six-core CPU design with two performance cores that are 25 percent faster and four efficiency cores that are 70 percent faster than the A10 Fusion. A new, second-generation performance controller can harness all six cores simultaneously, delivering up to 70 percent greater performance for multi-threaded workloads, giving customers more power while providing the same great battery life.

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The iPhone 8 continues to feature a single camera but with improved optics. It features an improved 12-MP camera with a larger and faster sensor, a new colour filter and deeper pixels. The iPhone 8 Plus features dual 12-MP cameras and introduces Portrait mode with Portrait Lighting, bringing dramatic studio lighting effects to iPhone.

New iPhones also support wireless charging solutions with work with Qi ecosystem and the wireless charging mats from Belkin and mophie will be available at Apple Authorised Resellers.

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Also Read: Apple iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus pre-order begins soon: Book by Sept 29 to avail Rs 10,000 cashback