iPhone 4S priced at Rs.44,500 in India

The launch price of iPhone in India is Rs.44,500 and evidently, it will be much more costlier in India than the rest of the world.

Aircel and Bharti Airtel have officially announced that they will be launching the iPhone 4S in India. In addition, they have also announced the prices, which are substantially higher than the last generation iPhone 4. Aircel and Bharti Airtel have priced the 16GB variant at INR 44,500, and the 32GB variant at INR 50,900.

In fact, all Apple products are priced significantly higher in India than in US, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Yet, Indian customers will not benefit from getting somebody to buy the phone for them from US or Singapore. That is because, unlike the iPad and Apple’s range of personal computers, the iPhone does not come with an international warranty. The warranty for iPhone 4S will be valid only in the country in which the phone is purchased.

Experts say, such a price difference will lead to the resurgence of the gray market that had largely disappeared in India due to the pricing parity followed by all handset majors and the near total abolition of customs and import duties by the government in a phased manner over the past few years.

Executives from both Airtel and Aircel, local carriers that will launch iPhone 4S on their networks, declined to comment.

However, the situation holds no novelty for Apple or Indian users, for that matter. Starting from iPods, Apple products have always been priced considerably higher in India as compared to other nations like Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States.

While expressing his opinion in this regard, an industry executive, who has long been eventful in monitoring response of Indian users for such international gadgets, said: “Most customers who wanted the 4S are internet savvy. They took price cues from other markets”.

Though various online shopping sites, like ebay, are claiming 10% off on purchase and shipment of iPhone 4S in India, the customers are fuming with the fact that the retail price of Apple iPhone 4S in India is much more than its retail price in the United States.