Apple Stores finally coming to India

The Apple Store is coming to India — or at least a few counters are, along with those signature wooden tables. They will be debuting in India in partnership with Tata-owned consumer electronics chain Croma, which will host Apple at six of its locations as a pilot.

"We are proud to partner Apple to launch the Apple Store in India and extremely bullish about it," said Avijit Mitra, CEO of Infiniti Retail, which owns Croma. "These stores will be modeled on the global design and will offer the best experience to consumers, showcasing the entire range of Apple products."

The Apple space will be 400-500 square feet in area and will be set up at five Croma stores in Mumbai — Malad, Juhu, Oberoi Mall, Phoenix Mall and Ghatkopar. In Bengaluru, this will be at Croma in Jayanagar. They are set to open by Diwali next month.

The store design, furniture, fixtures and lighting will the same as that used in Apple stores globally and the sales staff will also be trained by the company. In India, Apple sells through premium resellers who run exclusive brand stores under the franchise model. Devices are also available at multi-brand mobile and consumer electronics retail chains and some of the larger neighborhood phone stores.

Apple hasn't been able to set up its own stores because of mandatory local-sourcing norms for single-brand foreign direct investment in retail, it is said. Going the Croma route gives Apple the opportunity to control the consumer experience without jumping through the bureaucratic hoops.

To be sure, this could also be a precursor for a possibly stronger retail presence.

CEO Tim Cook is said to have suggested an easing of the sourcing rules when he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US recently, according to two persons with knowledge of this. Croma said it has 97 stores across the country with 3.8 million customers. Apple owns more than 460 stores in 17 countries — more than half in the US. The company has significantly increased its retail presence in the country in the past year with five distributors as India has become one of the fastest-growing markets for Apple.

It's also accelerated the launch of new phones. Sales of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus will start on October 16, just three weeks after the US. It also plans to launch Apple Watch in India by Diwali.

Apple sold 1.7 million iPhones in India between October 2014 and September 2015, the company's financial year, compared with 1.1 million units in the year-earlier period, according to market tracker Counter-Point Research.

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iPhone 6s, 6s Plus available for pre-order at over Rs 1 lakh in grey market: Reports

Apple announced its latest flagship smartphones – the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus on 9 September. India wasn’t on the initial list of countries to get the device. Neither have official launch dates for India been released.

However, it is estimated that Apple could launch the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus by Diwali to cash in on the festive season in India. Seizing the opportunity, the grey market in India has begun taking pre-orders.

According to a report in the Economic Times, a mobile store owner at Mumbai’s Heera Panna market said the price of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus will be around Rs 1 lakh. Although that seems like an astronomical sum for a smartphone, the grey market would be able to command such prices only for the short duration between the US rollout and the launch in India.

The report adds that the iPhone 6s would sell at an average selling price between Rs 70,000 and Rs 80,000. The iPhone 6s Plus would selling at an average price between Rs 80,000 and Rs 90,000. The Rose Gold edition of the device seems to come at an added premium of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000.

If you believe that’s a high sum, consider that the prices rise even higher in China’s grey market. According to a report in the South China Morning Post, “The asking price for a 16 GB iPhone 6S (as the new model is expected to be called) is between 8,900 and 9,250 yuan (US$1,300-1,450) while prices for larger-screen 128 GB iPhone 6S Plus ran as high as 21,000 yuan (US$3,300).” $3300 works to approximately Rs 2,20,000!

TheNational reports that the latest iPhones would hit the UAE grey markets within 2 weeks. Quoting a retailer in Abu Dhabi, the report says, “People have been asking when we’re going to sell the iPhone 6S for at least the past 10 days. I expect we will get it a day or two after it becomes available in the UK and the US.”

The report adds that last year the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sold for a premium of over Dh 1,000 (Rs 18,000) on the retail selling price.

While reports emerge that premium smartphones continue to witness a dip in sales, the sky rocketing prices commanded by these devices in the unregulated market suggests the high level of interest in them.

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Apple to launch new iPhones on 9 September; will discontinue iPhone 5c

In line with reports earlier this month, Apple is all set to host its next-gen iPhone launch event on September 9. The company will be live streaming the event on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and also for PC users.

The company has started sending invites to some media houses for the event to be held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California. The event image reads, “Hey Siri, give us a hint.”

The company has ensured that Siri is a part of its media invite this time. Take a look below:

Image: MacRumors

This year, the Cupertino company is expected to launch the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus. The company was also rumoured to launch a cheaper variant – iPhone 6c – at the event. However, a new report by 9To5Mac claims otherwise. Citing sources related to the matter, the report says that Apple is working on the 4-inch device but it is not yet ready to ship.

“Apple has also internally prototyped a new, smaller iPhone with a 3.5-inch display, the same size of the iPhone’s screen from the first model in 2007 to the iPhone 4S in 2011, but it does not appear that the company plans to move forward with actually releasing such a device,” the report further adds. It further adds that the company plans to discontinue iPhone 5c, but the iPhone 5s, 6 and 6 Plus sales will continue.

Image: MacRumors

Besides the new iPhones, the company is also expected to launch the long-time rumoured and much talked about 12.9-inch iPad dubbed iPad Pro. The large ‘12.9-inch iPad’ first hit headlines way back in 2013. Earlier this year, reports claimed that Apple will delay the start of production on the larger iPad Pro until around September due to problems involving the display panel supply.

The list of new products to be launched at the September event also includes the new Apple TV. Reports earlier this month hinted at Apple’s talks with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox ‘rapidly gaining momentum. The company had earlier planned to launch the Apple TV at WWDC. However, the plan was canned as Apple didn’t want to take away the focus from its new OS or music streaming service.

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Apple’s iPhone event may be held on September 9; expect iPhone 6s models, Apple TV and iPad Pro

It is known that Apple is likely to launch its next iPhone in September, and now the latest news brings the probable dates too. Citing sources related to the matter, BuzzFeed News reveals the next Apple event, wherein the company will unveil its next-gen iPhones, is slated for the week of September 7 and the most probably on September 9.

It should be noted that the company had launched its iPhone 6 models last year on the same date. Going by the reports, Apple plans to launch the new devices dubbed iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus phablet this year. These will be the successors to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, respectively. Besides, the company is also expected to launch the iPhone 6C.

According to a previous report by Digitimes, the iPhone 6C will use a polycarbonate construction — like the colorful iPhone 5C — and will run a less potent processor. However the biggest difference is that it will boast a smaller, 4-inch display rather than the 4.7-inch screen on the current iPhone 6. The production of Apple’s larger iPad Pro was to start last year. However, it was delayed due to excessive demand for the iPhone 6 Plus.

Despite lower specifications, the new handset, expected to be unveiled in September, will reportedly have a fingerprint scanner and will support the Apple Pay digital payments platform.

An earlier report also said that Apple has secured a new patent which will give future iPhones the ability to shoot even better images and deliver high-quality colours.

According to Apple Insider, the company has been a granted a patent for a ‘digital camera with light splitter’ which will allow Apple to embed a three-sensor prism-based camera module within the chassis of a thin wireless device, like the iPhone.

Besides the iPhone 6S models, the company is also expected to launch the long-time rumoured and much talked about 12.9-inch iPad dubbed iPad Pro. The large ‘12.9-inch iPad’first hit headlines way back in 2013. Earlier this year, reports claimed that Apple will delay the start of production on the larger iPad Pro until around September due to problems involving the display panel supply.

The list of new products to be launched at the September event also includes the new Apple TV. Reports earlier this month hinted at Apple’s talks with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox ‘rapidly gaining momentum. The company had earlier planned to launch the Apple TV at WWDC. However, the plans were canned as Apple didn’t want to take away the focus from its new OS or Music streaming service.

With the new product, we may see design changes as well as internal improvements. The all-new Apple TV will bring changes to the device such as App Store, voice control with Siri, and an improved remote with a touch pad. The new box is said to be slimmer and will come improved speed.

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