iPhone 16 sales up 15-20% over iPhone 15 on Day 1

Surajeet Das Gupta/Business Standard


The highly anticipated launch of Apple iPhone 16 series generated significant buzz in India on Friday, with serpentine queues at flagship stores and quick-service platforms offering deliveries for the first time.

According to Counterpoint Research, which undertook the initial sample survey across retailers, iPhone 16 series has witnessed up to a 15 to 20 per cent surge in sales on the inaugural day compared to its iPhone 15 counterpart.

Neil Shah, founder of Counterpoint Research in India, said that based on the initial feedback, the basic iPhone 16 model was the bestseller on Day 1, followed by Pro Max.

Shah points out that the agency has conducted a dipstick study on the first day to gauge consumer sentiment and traction.

Over the fortnight, it will be undertaking a more comprehensive study comprising a larger sample of over 200 retailers.

Big Basket, which promised quick delivery of iPhone 16 in 10 minutes, delivered 138 phones in the first hour.

The quick-service platform has been selling 3 to 4 phones every minute, according to Hari Menon, co- founder of Big Basket. 

Blinkit, which has tied up with reseller Unicorn, made over 300 deliveries in four cities, including in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Pune since 8 am when sales kicked off, Unicorn founder Albinder Dhindsa said.

In FY24, sales in India, primarily driven by iPhones, touched Rs 67,000 crore (Rs 670 billion), growing by 35 per cent year-on-year.

In FY 2019, domestic sales were only Rs 11,000 crore (Rs 110 billion), representing a sevenfold increase.

For the first time, Apple is assembling its top-end models, including the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, in India, simultaneously with production in China.