With Apple Inc starting its sales and deliveries of iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max from Friday (September 18), preliminary estimates show that there has been a 15-28 per cent uptick depending on city, with demand for the iPhone 18 Pro outperforming that for the iPhone 17 Pro, according to Counterpoint Research. The agency’s feedback is based on inspections of Apple stores located in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Jaipur, and Meerut.

The research also shows that burgundy is the hottest colour in town this year for Apple phones, replacing orange, which created quite a stir in India and the world, leading to shortages and long waiting periods for that colour last year.

“Burgundy colour is in demand, and there is also demand for higher storage (the lowest is 256 GB). The early feedback is positive. However, we have to monitor performance over a longer window, after the initial launch hype stabilizes,” said Tarun Pathak, head of research, Counterpoint.

On the other hand, Apple’s top retailers said that bookings for iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max have collectively been up by 40-50 per cent over last year’s iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. The iPhone 18 Pro is, of course, the hot seller, with an entry-level price of ₹1,64,900, while the Pro Max starts at ₹1,79, 900. However, with instant cashbacks and trade-ins ranging from ₹4,500 to ₹81,500, one could get it at a much lower price. Or, one could avail no-cost EMIs, which would bring down monthly outgo to ₹26,316.

However, the buzz in the retail stores this year will be much more muted than last year, because this time Apple has not launched the entry-level iPhone 18 simultaneously with the Pro and Pro Max. The plan is to bring the iPhone 18 entry-level offering sometimes in the beginning of next year.

What will be closely watched is the response to Apple’s first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, which comes with a very steep price tag of ₹2,99,000. Bookings for iPhone Duo will start from October 17. The phone is available at much cheaper prices in the US and Dubai.