Apple iPhone 6s price drops, but demand for older iPhone 6 remains high

Apple iPhone and the Indian smartphone audience have always had a special relationship. That was irrespective of the high premium in grey market before the iPhones were officially launched or the long queues on the launch day, regardless of price and short supply. But the price tag on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus failed to work magic this year.

The new iPhones were launched in October, just in time for the festive season, with the starting price of Rs 62,000 for the iPhone 6s 16GB. But in less than two months of its launch, the iPhone 6s has witnessed a significant price drop as it is now retailing for Rs 49,499 on online portals such as Flipkart.

In offline retail, shopkeepers are selling it anywhere between Rs 51,000 and Rs 53,000. The story isn't any different with the elder sibling, the iPhone 6s Plus. There has been a price drop of Rs 10,000 as the iPhone 6s Plus 16GB is retailing for Rs 62,000 in offline retail and Rs 65,999 in online space, whereas the MRP was Rs 72,000 when launched. The Rose Gold colour and gold might be priced slightly higher at online portals but you can easily get the silver colour at this price.

Interestingly, the older version, the iPhone 6, is much more in demand. "Both the iPhone and the iPhone 6s look identical and there are just a few hardware upgrades in the latter. But the iPhone 6 is retailing for Rs 41,000, which still makes it a good buy for most of our customers. Even though the demand of the iPhone 6s has gone up after the significant price drop, people are still going for the iPhone 6," says Manish Khatri of Mumbai-based Mahesh Telecom.

Owing to the poor demand of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, a distributor based out of Gaffar Market in New Delhi said: "If the price of the iPhone 6 drops further, people will start asking for the iPhone 6s. If the price comes down to Rs 45,000 to Rs 47,000, people will only then consider buying the iPhone 6s over the iPhone 6. And once that happens, Apple might withdraw the stocks of the iPhone 6 from the market."

Until a few years ago, Apple used to closely control the pricing of its iPhone but things seem to have changed in recent years. There is already a 20 per cent price drop owing to the weak demand of the new iPhones. Also, the recently launched smartphones from Lenovo , Nexus and Vivo are doing well in the market. The Nexus 5x after the price drop has been doing well.