Long lines formed outside Apple Stores across India on Friday as Apple began selling the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. DW reported that customers arrived before dawn in cities including Bengaluru and Noida, with some traveling from other states to be among the first buyers.
The new models are priced higher than their predecessors. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at Rs 164,900, while the Pro Max starts at Rs 179,900 at the base storage tier. According to DW, the prices are roughly Rs 30,000 higher than those of equivalent models at launch last year, ending Apple’s recent pattern of keeping Indian launch prices steady.
In Bengaluru, a customer identified by the newswire ANI as Rahul said he reached the Apple Store at around 5 a.m. and found others already waiting. He told ANI that he had purchased every iPhone since the iPhone 7 and viewed the launch as an annual festival rather than simply a shopping event.
Another customer at the Apple Store in Noida said he had traveled from Punjab and started waiting at 6 a.m. He said he had secured the first booking and was the first person to receive the phone at that store, according to the account carried by DW.
The queues came despite the cost of the new Pro lineup. DW placed the reported prices alongside India’s 2025 GDP per capita of $2,702.5, citing World Bank figures, while noting that the statistic does not reflect income inequality.
The report also included other Indian headlines, including an Election Commission decision barring both Trinamool Congress factions from using the party’s name and its flowers-and-grass symbol in upcoming by-elections. DW also reported that five infant orangutans were found by forest rangers in Odisha, amid concerns that India is becoming a destination for trafficked exotic wildlife.