Retailers rush to collect iPhone 17 series and iPhone Air pre-orders

Online and offline platforms such as Croma and Vijay Sales hope to sweeten the deal with credit card linked discounts, while Blinkit hopes a need for instant gratification will push its case for 10-minute deliveries of new iPhones.

A week on from Apple unveiling its next iPhone line-up, which CEO Tim Cook noted as “unlike anything we have created before”, retailers in India are lining up with pre-booking offers for buyers. Platforms are aggressively pitching pre-booking offers for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and the iPhone Air, which of course don’t have outright pricing discounts, but retailers hope to sweeten the deal by cobbling together cashback offers on certain payment methods, including credit cards.

The iPhone 17 series is available for pre-orders on several websites, including quick commerce platforms. (Official images.)

Infiniti Retail’s popular Croma platform is accepting pre-orders for a new iPhone 17 series or the iPhone Air, with availability starting September 19, the official day of the new iPhones going on sale in many countries including India. Croma isn’t just leveraging their online retail presence to collect pre-orders, because for now, the pre-book amounts at any of their 574 stores in 206 Indian cities also range between ₹2,000 and ₹17,000 depending on which new iPhone a user reserves for themselves.

At this time, Croma has listed up to ₹4,000 discount if a buyers pays for an iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max using an ICICI Bank credit card or an SBI Bank credit card, including the up to 6 months low cost EMI, or equated monthly instalment, option. This discount, using either of these banks credit cards, is ₹6,000 for a standard iPhone 17. “Pre-booking will also be available for Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and AirPods Pro 3—priced from ₹46,900, ₹89,900, ₹25,900, and ₹25,900 respectively,” the retailer confirmed to HT.

The prices of the new iPhone 17 starts at ₹82,900 while the iPhone 17 Pro is priced ₹1,34,900 onwards while the flagship iPhone 17 Pro Max costs ₹1,49,900 onwards. The new addition to the iPhone portfolio, the iPhone Air, demands you part with ₹1,19,900 onwards. Research firm IDC estimates India’s iPhone shipments will reach 15 million units through 2025, supported by the upcoming festive season demand. Canalys also estimates iPhone shipments to clock 14.2 million units this year, compared with 11.8 million in 2024.

“On the pricing front Apple has this time retained the price points except in a few instances, indicating they are expecting a flattish growth globally. Despite rupee weakening against dollar by around 5% in 2025 over 2024 they haven’t made major price jumps in India,” notes Faisal Kawoosa, chief analyst at research firm Techarc.

Vijay Sales has also listed the upcoming iPhones for pre-booking, both online and offline. On the iPhone 17, listed discounts include ₹6,000 discounts on ICICI Bank credit cards as well as SBI Bank credit cards, as well as a potential ₹4,000 discount if the transaction is converted to an EMI with an HDFC Bank credit card or a ₹4,500 discount for HSBC Card EMI conversion. There is also a ₹3,000 discount on EMI option if paid for using a OneCard credit card.

For the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air, the ICICI credit card and SBI credit card discounts are listed at ₹4,000 per order. Alongside, HDFC Bank seems to be offering a much smaller ₹600 instant discount on EMI transactions up to a 6-month tenure while there are 5% discounts with differing ceilings for payments made using BOB Card and IDFC First Bank credit card EMIs.

In the era of quick commerce, Eternal’s Blinkit has confirmed that all iPhone 17 phones will be available for their famed ’10-minute delivery’ starting September 19. At this time, Blinkit doesn’t seem to be accepting preorders for any new iPhone. “The quick commerce platform will make Apple’s latest device available at lightning speed, marking another step in redefining instant convenience,” the company says, in a statement.

Research firm Techarc estimates India’s smartphone market is embarking on a positive phase of growth, coinciding with the festive season and taxation changes. “Our estimates suggest that the festive season will contribute to 67% of the smartphone sales in the second half of the year. The flagship festive sales events of leading online marketplaces, Great India Festival by Amazon and Big Billion Days by Flipkart also coincide with the religious festivals,” they note.

Amazon has listed its Great Indian Festival Sale, which starts on September 23, while Flipkart flags off the latest edition of The Big Billion Days Sale, on the same day. The timing of these sales was altered in recent weeks, to ensure they start a day after the new GST rates are applicable.

The research firm also estimates measures including increasing the personal income tax threshold to ₹12 LPA and reduction in GST of essentials and several other product categories is expected to increase the disposable income among buyers which will also benefit smartphone sales. Smartphones continue to attract 18% GST, but Techarc believes reduction in taxation elsewhere will boost discretionary purchases.

The new iPhones arrive as Apple navigates increasing tariff costs. India, which plays a crucial role in Apple’s global assembly footprint, finds an exemption on the 50% tariffs that most Indian goods attract when imported into the US (this is part of a larger electronics and smartphones category exemption). However, it is unclear how long this tariff exemption will remain in place.