Long, snaking lines that are normally associated with Apple's new smartphone launches were missing in Bengaluru on Friday when the retail stores of iconic smartphone maker Apple rolled up their shutters to sell the much-awaited iPhone X (10).
The stores on M G Road, UB City, Indiranagar and Forum Mall among others in the city witnessed tepid response from the fans owing to dearth of stock as well as exorbitant prices. The iPhone X is priced at Rs 1,02,000 in India, making it the most expensive smartphone ever from Apple.
The stores in the city received less than 25% of the bookings from the distributors. While there have been around 4,000 bookings of iPhone in Karnataka, around 900 units were available on the first day of the launch, storekeepers told DH.
Apple India sources attribute the problem to the uncertainty in bookings as the phone saw a lukewarm response from the customers when the pre-booking started. "It is good sign that there is a mismatch between the supply and demand," a source said, on condition of anonymity.
According to various dealers of the iPhone in the city, they had stopped the bookings of the phone 15 days prior, when the US-based phone-maker had apprised them of the less availability of the stock.
"In fact, we have told remaining customers who had booked the phone to come at a later date," one of the dealers told DH. The remaining stock is expected to come by November 10.