If you have been holding off on buying a new iPhone, you might want to reconsider. Apple’s iPhones are soon expected to get costlier in India but the reason is not what you think. Apple is reportedly planning to pull some benefits that it offers on iPhone purchases in India. Removing these benefits is likely to increase the upfront price that buyers will have to pay while purchasing an iPhone.
What’s happening?
According to media reports, Apple is planning to withdraw support for its demand generation or DG benefits from its retailers and channel partners in India. Pulling these benefits is likely to increase the net effective price of Apple’s iPhones in India, which until now enjoyed heavy discounts. Reports further say that once this change comes into effect, the effective price of iPhones is likely to go up by around ₹5,000.
It is worth mentioning that this move isn’t exactly surprising. The iPhone-maker recently slashed its cashback incentives from ₹6,000 to ₹1,000 in India, making the iPhone 17 series relatively pricier for Indian buyers.
What are DG support and why do they matter?
DG support is the backend incentives that companies offer to their retailers and channel partners. These benefits let retailers offer discounts and other incentives to the interested buyers without changing the maximum retail price (MRP) of the device, making it a more attractive proposition for the price-sensitive buyers.
In the case of Apple’s iPhones, DG benefits have helped retailers cushion the effect of high MRPs and make slightly older devices such as the iPhone 16, more lucrative to the buyers. They also give iPhones a competitive advance over other brands. However, with DG benefits being removed soon, this cushion is expected to vanish. This means, interested buyers will have to pay more to purchase the iPhone of their choice once the change comes into effect.
Will all iPhone models get expensive in India?
Reports suggest that this change is likely to affect slightly older iPhone models, which includes the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 16. Newer iPhone models, such as the iPhone 17 series, are expected to remain unaffected by this change.
Furthermore, the report suggests that the removal of DG support is unlikely to dampen iPhone sales in India in the long term as a large part of the iPhone purchases are made through EMIs, which reduces the stress of high upfront payments.
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