It was half past ten (in India) on the night of 9th September when Tim Cook took to the stage and unveiled the bigger and gigantic iPhones 6s. There was a child-like excitement and anticipation amongst Apple enthusiasts. But, as always, there was also a question mark on the faces of Indian fan-boys.
When will we get our hands on these shiny new toys? Will Apple finally honour us with an early launch? Our eyes quickly scanned the rather short list of countries getting the iPhones of 19th September and all our questions got the expected answer. No.
And so the frustrating cycle began!
Every couple of days a new launch timeframe was rumoured and then contradicted. Till date there has been no formal confirmation and the pundits are estimating a timeframe similar to last year’s launch – early November.
Of course Apple can’t launch products everywhere at one go. All production and logistic limitations are understood and appreciated. What’s mind-boggling is the cold shoulder a market like India gets from the Big A.
There is no official Apple Store (only franchises), no subsidised carrier contracts (not counting the ambiguous attempt by Reliance last year), and no major marketing push. Apple seems to be stuck with the notion that India will always be a ‘give me the cheapest’ market. Not true!
Just the sheer number of people in India should make Apple sit up and take note. Add to that the growing purchasing power all across the country and you have a goldmine in waiting. I am no financial expert but I can confidently say that Indian market has a huge potential.
It’s high time that they starts taking note of the growing lines for the iPhone launch events in metro cities. Someone needs to tell Mr. Cook the whopping prices at which their phones sell in the Indian black markets before the official launch. So far iPhones have been selling themselves, imagine the potential if Apple puts its force behind it.
I am sure Apple’s marketing team is smart enough to know what they are doing. There must be some reason(s) that they are making small strikes in a market that’s waiting a full-fledged invasion. As Apple lovers, we can only hope for the day our name is a permanent fixture in Apple’s launch list.
Till then, we will continue calling our friends and family in US and ask them to bring us a ‘special’ Diwali gift.
