Apple released its latest flagships – iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus – on 9 September and said the handsets will be available in many countries from 25 September. Sadly, India was not listed among the first batch of countries where the new iPhones will be available.
But that hasn't stopped the grey market in India to get ahead of Apple's schedule in accepting pre-orders for the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.
If you are willing to pre-order the premium iPhone 6s or the iPhone 6s Plus, make sure your bank balance is above the six-figure mark. According to a report in The Economic Times, a mobile store in Mumbai revealed the pricing of the new iPhones to be well over Rs 1 lakh. The over-the-roof pricing for the new iPhones comes from the demand from hardcore iPhone fans, who are willing to spend a fortune just to get the handset before it is officially released in the market.
ET was able to get an average of what the grey market dealers are charging for the new iPhones. The report said the iPhone 6s is expected to be priced between Rs 70,000 and Rs 80,000, whereas the iPhone 6s Plus will cost around Rs 80,000 to Rs 90,000. Apple added a new colour variant to its new flagships, the premium rose gold, which will cost an additional Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000.
The other storage models, including 64GB and 128GB, are expected to be priced much higher.
"The price will be around Rs 1 lakh initially, but it will come down after the company announces the official launch date. We have started getting enquiries," ET quoted a mobile store owner at Mumbai's Heera Panna Market as saying.
For the extra cost, these retailers are promising to fulfill the pre-order requests within two to three days of the US launch. The sellers are reportedly importing the handsets from other markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore to deliver in India. The iPhones will be unlocked so they can work on any network.
As for the official release, Apple is expected to release the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus in India during the second week of October.
