Only a third of iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus sold on Day 1 of launch

KOLKATA: Mobile phone retailers sold only about one-third of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus devices supplied to them for the launch in India on Friday in one of the dullest first-day sales for Apple's flagship product in recent years.

The debut of the iPhone 8 in the country was a stark contrast to previous launches, when demand would outstrip supply and leave retailers out of stock within an hour. Four senior industry executives, who requested anonymity, said several customers are waiting for the iPhone X with its innovative design and features and are postponing their purchases to November, when the model will become available in India and other overseas markets.

The familiar long queues usually seen outside Apple exclusive stores and large retail chains in India during an iPhone launch were missing in most of the stores on Friday evening. Even a tweet by indiaistore.com, the official platform of iPhone distributors in India, showed only a handful of people outside an Apple store to buy the new iPhones.

"This is the weakest launch of a new iPhone in India," said the owner of an Apple exclusive store."There was no queue, unlike previous years. This year there is no demand for any specific colour, but more demand for the 256 GB model."

Apple CEO Tim Cook 'joins' Akash Ambani at iPhone 8's India launch

Cook greeted with ‘Namaste’ and talked about the new iPhone 8 models and their key features.

A senior executive at a retail chain said staff at his store have been calling up customers to come and check the model. "However, since there is a long weekend ahead, we will surely sell out the initial stock by then," he said. Apple started selling the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in India at 6 pm on Friday - a week after the global launch - starting at Rs 64,000. The iPhone X, marking the 10th anniversary of the iconic device, will be launched in India on November 3 and will sell for Rs 89,000 (64 GB model) and Rs 1.02 lakh (256 GB).

ET reported on Friday that bookings for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus were about half the levels for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus a year ago. A similar trend was reported from key Apple markets including the US, the UK and China, where fewer customers showed up to buy the new phones, preferring to wait for the iPhone X.