New Delhi: Apple’s latest flagship, the iPhone 17, launched on Friday to an unprecedented frenzy, with eager customers lining up for hours – even camping overnight for up to 21 hours – outside Apple stores across major cities.
The massive anticipation was palpable as fans in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru formed long, serpentine queues, determined to be among the first to get their hands on the new devices.
The scene was a vibrant showcase of Apple fandom, highlighting the brand’s enduring appeal and the excitement surrounding its latest offering in India.
Retailers reported record-breaking foot traffic on opening day, with early buyers sharing stories of camaraderie and determination in the long lines.
At the Apple Store in Delhi’s Saket Citywalk Mall, as also in Mumbai and Bengaluru, people lined up well before store opening hours, underscoring strong demand fuelled by enthusiastic young buyers and the brand’s premium appeal.
“I was in the queue since morning, and I am excited to buy the iPhone of this colour,” Ashraf from Sangam Vihar, Delhi could not hide his excitement as he clutched his newly-purchased cosmic orange device.
In Bengaluru, the newly-opened Apple Hebbal store at Mall of Asia witnessed heavy footfall as excited shoppers lined up early to purchase the newly launched iPhone 17 lineup along with the latest Apple Watch and AirPods.
One of the customers, Mohammad Suhail, who purchased an iPhone 17 said it was “nice to have a store in Bengaluru.”
Apple had launched the retail store in Bengaluru, on September 2, in a grand opening that marked its debut in South India.
Mumbai saw a similar frenzy outside Apple’s Jio World Drive mall at Bandra Kurla Complex business district. A little before 6 am, a scuffle broke out among some of the customers had assembled, prompting the security personnel to intervene.
Once the store opened at the designated time of 8 am, it was a smooth flow with customers going in and quickly picking up units of their desired model.
“Every year, I stand in line from 3 am to buy the newest model. I have been very excited about the model and had been waiting for it for the past six months,” said Aman Memon, among the first customers, who bought three units for him and family.
Memon said the colour features of the new phone, along with a newer bionic chip is a big draw for him.
While there is no official word from Apple yet on record turnout, analysts say Apple’s growth in India is being fuelled by its strong brand appeal and wider adoption of EMI schemes among young buyers.
Apple unveiled the iPhone 17 series in the price range of Rs 82,900 to Rs 2,29,900, which became available in India starting Friday for customers who have pre-booked the device.
In the US, the iPhone 17 series is priced between USD 799 (about Rs 70,370) and USD 1,999 (Rs 1.76 lakh) apiece.
Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint Research, highlighted the aspirational appeal of the Apple brand and its strong momentum in India, marked by double-digit growth. He noted that the increasing adoption of EMI schemes has eased affordability challenges for young buyers, further fueling demand.
“So the aspirational strength of this particular brand remains. Apple has a very strong momentum in India, growing in double digits. The young, aspirational user base is growing…And now, what is happening is almost three out of five iPhones in India are being sold on EMIs, which actually reduces the purchase barrier and behaviour for lot of these young audience who wish to buy an iPhone,” Pathak added.
Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn is the biggest producer of iPhones, with manufacturing facilities located in China and India. All iPhones produced in India are shipped to meet the requirements of the US market.
The company recently commenced production of the iPhone 17 series at its second-largest manufacturing unit based in Bengaluru, operating under informal restrictions imposed by China.
According to multiple sources, Apple plans to increase iPhone production to 60 million units this year, from about 35-40 million units in 2024-25.
Apple assembled 60 per cent more iPhones, worth an estimated USD 22 billion, in India in the year ended March 31, 2025.
An analysis by S&P Global said that iPhone sales in the US were 75.9 million units in 2024, suggesting a need to double shipments either through new capacity or redirecting shipments bound for the domestic market.
On Thursday, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw while speaking a pre-event conference for the AI Impact Summit 2026 had said: “Practically all the models of Apple iphone now manufactured in India. And most of the advanced countries will be getting the Apple iPhone manufactured in India, that is a good progress we have made.”
The ecosystem too is expanding fast, the Minister observed.
