iPhone 16 Pro India sale begins on September 20, but buyers may have to wait till October

Apple India’s delivery dates for the iPhone 16 Pro have been pushed to October, but offline retailers have a different story to tell.

iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, alongside the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, will be available in India starting September 20, with pre-orders already underway. However, what if we told you that you wouldn’t be able to buy an iPhone 16 Pro model on launch day? Yes, if you visit Apple India and head on to order the new devices, you will find that delivery dates have been pushed to October—so if you are ordering now, you can’t get a unit for yourself at launch.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple with the iPhone 16 Pro in Desert Titanium.(Bloomberg)

This is in line with reporting earlier this month, wherein we stated that it would be hard to get a Pro unit at launch if you weren’t quick to order once the pre-orders opened. This is exactly what has happened. In fact, other sources to procure the iPhone 16 series—like Amazon and Flipkart—have also run dry of stocks, with only some variants like the 1TB iPhone 16 Pro available on Flipkart. However, the offline situation happens to be a little better, at least in Tier-2 cities, with a different narrative compared to the last few years. Read on.

Key Takeaways:

• iPhone 16 Pro in the new Desert Titanium colourway seems to be the most popular.
• Customers are willing to pay upwards of ₹10,000 to secure an iPhone 16 Pro Max unit on launch day—September 20.
• If you are buying online in India, expect to get a unit in October.

iPhone 16 Pro Max: Online Order Delivery Dates Pushed To October 15

Upon checking the delivery dates for the iPhone 16 Pro Max in Desert Titanium 256GB, we found that the delivery dates have been pushed as far as October 15. The smaller iPhone 16 Pro is still relatively better at October 5 (likely due to less popularity). However, what’s surprising is that the Desert Titanium colour, which is the hero colour this time, is as readily available as the other colourways. Last year, the Natural Titanium was the most popular colourway, and this made it harder to get compared to other colourways like Black Titanium and Blue Titanium.

If you order the iPhone 16 Pro Max today, you will get it between October 5-13 in India, from Apple India. (Apple India)

The narrative appears to be quite different when it comes to offline sales. We spoke with several retailers in New Delhi and Jaipur to gain insight into the demand for the iPhone 16 Pro models. Paras Sareen, one of the new-age retailers with a significant social media presence—having over 1,32,000 Instagram followers—told us that his store, PhoneOClock in New Delhi’s Paschim Vihar, is seeing a lot of demand for the iPhone 16 Pro Max in the new Desert Titanium colourway. Sareen said, “This huge demand is primarily because of the price drop ( ₹15,000 price drop compared to iPhone 15 Pro’s launch price) Apple introduced for the Indian market. Everyone wants the new Desert Titanium colour, and they want it on the launch day, which is September 20.” He also told us that “customers are ready to pay upwards of ₹5,000-10,000 above the MRP, but want the device on the launch date itself.”

For clarity, we also got in touch with retailers based out of Tier-2 cities, like Jaipur. Real Mobiles in the bustling mobile market of Ganpati Plaza told us that the story is a little different in Tier-2 cities like Jaipur as they are receiving only 50% demand compared to the iPhone 15 Pro series, and that the customers’ calls inquiring about the same are also fewer. “There’s just 50% demand compared to the iPhone 15 Pro, but the Desert Titanium colour is the most popular this year.” We also asked the retailer if the iPhone 16 Pro Max was the most popular, but to our surprise, the retailer told us that the bookings are “mixed,” with roughly equal demand for both the Pro and Pro Max models.

What this entails is—you may still be able to buy an iPhone 16 Pro model offline, but for this, you will have to check with offline retailers to see if they are still accepting bookings for the new models, and if they would be able to give you an iPhone 16 Pro model at MRP, and around the launch date, which is September 2024.