25% in 2025! Local iPhone dispatch seen zooming

Apple’s iPhone dispatches across India are expected to surge 25% to a record 14-15 million units this calendar year, propelled by heavy discounts on older models, said industry executives and market trackers. The Cupertino-based handset maker has also priced new handsets lower than the previous models for similar storage capacities.

The iPhone 17 series, launched late on Tuesday, is seen as a key driver for Apple’s sales trajectory in India, its fastest-growing market globally, for the next two years. This year’s rollout comes in the midst of the festive season, considered the most crucial for consumer goods sales every year.

The iPhone 17’s starting price of Rs 82,900 is slightly higher than the iPhone 16 since Apple has discontinued the base 128GB storage. All iPhone 17 models start with a base storage of 256GB, priced lower than the previous generation model’s Rs 89,900 with the similar storage.


Research firm IDC India expects domestic iPhone dispatches to reach 15 million units in 2025.

Higher Attach Rate

This is against 12 million last year, said IDC. Upasana Joshi, research manager at IDC India said shipments to distributors crossed 6-7 million in January-June, with July-October expected to contribute another 4-5 million units on the back of festive demand.

Market researcher Canalys expects iPhone shipments to climb to 14.2 million units in 2025, from 11.8 million last year, while Counterpoint Research has projected an 18-19% dispatch growth, to capture around 8% market share in the Indian smartphone market by year-end.

Canalys forecasts Apple’s domestic wholesale revenue from iPhones to grow to $12.3 billion in 2025, from $11.2 billion last year, as it focuses on driving upgrades to the latest Pro models as well as the new iPhone Air. Revenue should also get a boost from increasing attach rate for its ecosystem products, which, at 5%, remains significantly lower compared to the global average of 37%, market trackers said.

Wholesale revenue is a metric used by third-party analysts to project revenues generated from selling products in bulk to other businesses such as retailers and distributors. This differs from a company’s revenue from operations, which includes all income earned from its core business activities. However, wholesale revenue is an indicator of the growth trend, said experts.

Apple recorded revenue from operations in India of around $9 billion in FY25, as per media reports.

“Supported by strong premiumisation tailwinds and the aspirational appeal of the iPhone brand, the new models are expected to see positive market uptake,” said Prabhu Ram, vice president, industry research group, CMR. “Affordability initiatives will further broaden the pool of consumers able to consider upgrades.”

The iPhone 16 was the highest selling model in the first half of 2025 in India, making up 4% of overall local shipments, IDC said. The research firm said the premium segment ($600-800) where iPhones compete saw the highest growth of 96.5%, with the iPhone 16 and 15 models together accounting for more than three-fifths of this segment.

“The new iPhone Air adds $100 to the price while providing similar or even less material from a consumer utility perspective. This will help Apple drive up its average selling prices in India through the year,” said Sanyam Chaurasia, principal analyst at Canalys, underpinning the growing maturity of the market.

He added that Apple’s primary focus for the next two years will be on driving upgrades from existing users, so margins are comparatively higher.

“A significant opportunity lies in increasing attach rates for ecosystem devices like smart audio, tablets and wearables, as India's current attach rates are significantly lower than global averages,” Chaurasia said. “In H1 2025, for every 100 iPhones shipped in India, Apple attached just five smart audio devices, five tablets and two wearables – only 13-24% of global levels – underlining a significant opportunity.”

IDC’s Joshi noted that most iPhones sold in India will be through affordability schemes, a key driving factor for sales. Apple is also banking on its flagship retail stores in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Pune to play a significant role in educating customers about its products and increasing attach rates.