Apple Advances iPhone 6S Series Release in India to Challenge Samsung Galaxy Note 5, S6 Edge+: Report

[Update: Apple has confirmed that the new iPhone 6S series will indeed released next month, 16 October to be precise]

Original story:

American technology giant Apple is reportedly planning to release the newly unveiled iPhone 6S in India as early as next month.

On 9 September, Apple unveiled the company's new line of iPhone 6S series in USA, which is slated to hit select markets later this month. But there was no official word on when the devices will be made available in India.

Now The Economic Times, citing company insiders, has claimed that the Cupertino company has advanced the release date of the flagship smartphones in India. They are expected to hit stores around 10-11 October, to take on arch-rival Samsung's new S6 Edge+ that was released a few weeks ago for Rs 57,990 and the Galaxy Note 5 that is set to be made available on 20 September.

Some might argue that considering Samsung's devices were released well ahead of iPhone 6S series and they stand a chance to get a head start over Apple's devices, but as per industry sources Apple has actually advanced iPhone 6S series launch in India by a month.

If previous years' launch patterns were to be taken as any indication, iPhone 6S were supposed to set foot in India just days ahead of auspicious Diwali (aka Deepavali), a three-day festival of lights, which falls in November this year.

In this case, Samsung would have got two months advantage over Apple and could use its cash reserve to book advertisement slots in prime-time television programs and other media outlets. It could have drummed up enough buzz prior to the festival season, which is slated to kick start on 22 October (Dussehra aka Dasara in South India) and continue till mid-November culminating with Diwali (aka Deepavali).

But now the new iPhone 6S series smartphones are slated to hit stores in the second week of October, the first time that Apple devices are setting foot in the country so soon after release.

In a related development, Apple is reported to launch the flagship Watch in India in a few weeks time. As of now, there is no word on Apple Watch's price, but it will certainly be more than Rs 20,000, which is way higher when compared to US and other European markets. The steep price is due to the imposition of custom duty, and the rupee's depreciation to the US Dollar 

Read more: Key Feature of Apple Watch and US Retail Price Details

Key specifications of Samsung Galaxy Note 5, S6 Edge+, Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus: