You might struggle to get your hands on iPhone 11 this Diwali: Here’s why

The executive at another store, however, said he expects iPhone 11 series to be back in stock on Dhanteras though there was no confirmation from Apple on the same. And, even if retailers managed to hold a few units, they quickly get sold out.

The popularity of the new iPhone 11 stems from its price which starts at Rs 64,900 for the 64GB variant. The purple and green colour variants are the most popular, according to retailers. As for the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, midnight green is the most favoured colour option, they said.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max is seeing better-than-expected demand in India, despite its Rs 109,900 starting price. The 256GB storage version of iPhone 11 Pro Max in “midnight green” has generated the most interest, followed by gold and other options at Sangeetha Mobiles, one of the leading mobile retail chains in India.

Apple iPhone 11 shipment numbers as provided by CyberMedia Research (CMR) for the month of September, seen by indianexpress.com, sheds some light on why iPhone 11 series is out of stock ahead of the crucial festive period.

The data suggests Apple shipped just 42,000 units of iPhone 11, 23,000 units of iPhone 11 Pro and 18,000 units of iPhone 11 Pro Max into the country in the month of its launch. The numbers might be on a higher side in the month of October, though it clearly seems to be the case of the demand simply outstripping supply.

Prabhu Ram, head – Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), said unlike before, “Apple’s tweaked and prudent India pricing strategy” is paying dividends as is seen from the increased consumer demand. “Coupled with attractive promotions and financing options, Indian consumers now have more options to buy the new iPhones,” he said.

Apple iPhone 11 is out of stock on Flipkart.

Srinivas Mothey, Senior Vice-President at Paytm Mall, agrees. “We have witnessed good demand for iPhone 11 on our platform and we have been sold out on our initial stock within the first three days of launch,” says Mothey. Paytm Mall is the authorised online Apple reseller alongside Amazon and Flipkart.

He said over 50 per cent of the devices sold by PayTm Mall were priced higher than Rs 1 lakh and 23 per cent of the volume have been contributed by non-traditional colors like green, yellow, purple, etc.

“Most demand was generated in the northern part of the country followed by western part, both contributing to 90 per cent of total demand for iPhone 11. We offered instant discount upto 9 per cent in partnership with HDFC Bank, which has also boosted our sales,” he added.

Apple has ensured that the iPhone 11 has a competitive pricing in India this time and would be looking at expanding its market share in the premium segment where it now competes with Samsung and OnePlus. Chandu Reddy, Director of Sangeetha Mobiles, corroborates that “there are not enough stocks of iPhone 11 series”. Reddy says many consumers who pre-booked the new iPhones and are still waiting to get the deliveries and some have even cancelled.

While he feels the demand for iPhone 11 series is still not at par with the iPhone X, Reddy does acknowledge that sales of more expensive “Pro” models are mostly driven by their superior triple cameras.

Though the spike in demand is good, Apple should be careful that this does not end up being an opportunity for its rivals. We have reached out to Apple for comments.