It's another year and Apple iPhone fans in India will have lighter wallets (and heavier pockets) by the end of the day. This is because the Apple iPhone 8 and its bigger sibling, the iPhone 8 Plus go on sale in India today.
The Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus
While every year sees hordes of fans lineup at iPhone retailers in India, this year could be a little different. This is because the Cupertino technology giant also announced its tenth anniversary iPhone X (pronounced as the iPhone 'ten') that falls more in line with what the other premium smartphone flagships, like those from Samsung that are available for purchase today.
Pricing
With the base iPhone X model priced at a ridiculous Rs 89,000 and the 256 GB model breaking the smartphone price barrier at Rs 1,02,000 (you read that right, it's over a lakh) many will want an iPhone X, but few will have the heavy wallets to buy them.
The Apple iPhone X
The "standard" (that's what you are going to be branded as people) iPhone 8 and 8 Plus models seem to be priced well.
iPhone 8
64 GB: Rs 64,000
256 GB: Rs 77,000
iPhone 8 Plus
64 GB: Rs 73,000
256 GB: Rs 86,000
As you can tell, it's typical iPhone pricing because the 32 GB and 128 GB models are no more.
Moving on to the deals, well, there's plenty of them. But we have segregated the best ones we could find for all those who want to buy one today.
Buyback deals
Jio is offering the best one, when it comes to buyback deals. Second in line is Flipkart, which offers a wider spread.
Reliance Jio has an offer on both the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus models (iPhone X to arrive in November) giving customers a 70 percent of the iPhone's value. You will need to download MyJio app and use Jio data services for a year to be eligible for this cashback offer, which can be used to buy the next generation iPhone or other electronica gadgets from Reliance Digital stores. Reliance Digital also offers the Citi Cashback of Rs 10,000 on an iPhone 8 or 8 Plus purchase.
The company announced the iPhone 8 at a launch event held at Apple Park in Cupertino along with iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X.
There are a couple of conditions. That 70 percent buyback comes in the form of Reliance Digital gift vouchers and the buyback amount will apply after the deduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that is currently set at 12 percent (for mobile phones). You still will be left with a lumpsum amount to upgrade to your next iPhone 9 or 9 Plus. The second condition is that you will have to subscribe to a Jio 4G plan priced at Rs 799 per month. It gets you 3 GB of 4G data, 100 SMS messages and the usual free voice calls.
Flipkart too has an offer on buybacks. The e-commerce giant is offering to iPhone 8 and 8 Plus up to 52 percent buyback value when they upgrade to a new iPhone 15 months later.
Want to guarantee that buyback price? You can do that as well, by paying Flipkart an additional Rs 99 to lock in your buyback price. But there's more from Flipkart.
Exchange deals & Cashbacks
Flipkart is offering an exchange value of up on your current iPhone 7, iPhone 6s, a Moto Z or a OnePlus 3T (Rs 17,000, Rs 11,000, Rs 8,550 and Rs 10,550 respectively) when you go to buy an iPhone 8. There's also a no-cost EMI at Rs 5,334/month for the iPhone 8. Also get an extra 12 percent off if you go in for an exchange deal.
Add the Rs 10,000 Citi Cashback to all of the above offers combined and you can buy an iPhone 8 (64 GB) for an effective price of Rs 12,000 (Rs 40,000 without buyback guarantee) on exchange of an iPhone 7 or an iPhone 6s.
Apple announced the iPhone 8 Plus in a launch event held at Apple Park in Cupertino along with iPhone 8 and iPhone X.
Amazon too hasn't shied away from the iPhone 8. The e-tailer has the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus models on offer in all the options and is offering up to Rs 12,000 off on exchange with an additional Rs 3,000 off as a part of its special offers. Amazon also has 3/6/9/12 months no-cost EMI on select credit cards.
It's wise to note that Citi cashback on Citi credit cards Rs 10,000 cashback only works on 29 September and not a minute after that. The same applies to most of the deals mentioned above, so if you want take advantage of the above deals, we suggest read the fine print on retailer websites, before you make a purchase.
Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.
Published Date: Sep 29, 2017 11:11 am | Updated Date: Sep 29, 2017 11:32 am
