Apple's iPhone 17 is facing a supply crunch in India as the smartphone is increasingly hard to buy at the online and offline retail channels. And there are rumors that Apple will raise the price of the iPhone 17 and other models in the country as early as August.
Retailers and industry representatives say fresh supplies of the iPhone 17 have slowed significantly in recent weeks. While some offline stores still have limited units, several major e-commerce platforms have listed the smartphone as out of stock. Even Apple’s official store in Noida reportedly did not have the device available when inquiries were made.
The Apple store in Saket, New Delhi still had limited stock, and people who ordered from Apple online were expecting delivery times of two to three weeks, according to data.
iPhone 17 Supply Disruption Raises Price Concerns
The reported shortage is occurring at a time when the global technology industry is being faced with increasing demand for memory and other components. Artificial intelligence services and data centers are rapidly increasing demand for advanced computing infrastructure and supply pressures are felt in many segments of both the smartphone and laptop industry.
The situation has led Apple to anticipate that it will soon increase the price of its iPhone lineup and also potentially prices it has already increased the prices of some MacBook and iPad models in India and other markets in recent months, but the iPhone range was not affected at that time.
A similar price increase has already taken place in Japan, where iPhone prices have risen by about 10 to 11 percent. Industry observers now believe India could be next.
Kailash Lakhyani, CEO of the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA), said the iPhone 17 supply situation had been tightened.
“Yes, there’s a shortage. The iPhone 17 hasn’t been available for the last week, and the shortage might continue for another week or more,” he said.
iPhone 17 Could Become More Expensive in August
To add to the speculation, tipster Abhishek Yadav claimed that Apple informed iPlanet dealers about a possible price revision beginning in the first week of August.
According to the claim, the standard iPhone 17 could see its price rise to Rs 94,990 from its original launch price of Rs 82,990. If implemented, that would be a significant increase of Rs 12,000.
Another price adjustment is rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, but Apple has not yet said anything.
Delhi-NCR retailers have also expressed concerns about the short supply, some reports said. Dealers could be holding back current stock in anticipation of higher prices, according to the reports. Lakhyani rejected this theory, saying retailers would not have much reason to hoard devices because phones must be sold at the printed maximum retail price.
With the shortage and possible price increase, the buyers now face the tough choice of either purchasing the iPhone 17 when the amount of stock is low or waiting for the next batch of supply (which may come at a higher price). Apple has not publicly announced the price hike for the iPhone 17 in India yet.
