Preliminary estimates from Counterpoint Research put launch-day demand for the iPhone 18 Pro series in India 15% to 28% above last year’s iPhone 17 Pro, depending on the city, Business Standard reported on September 18, the day the phones went on sale there. Counterpoint’s research director Tarun Pathak gave no figure of his own on the record, and told the IANS news agency it was too early for sales numbers.
“While it’s too early to share definitive sales figures, initial demand for the 18 Pro is outperforming the 17 Pro YoY,” Pathak told IANS. The agency itself describes the 15% to 28% range as an uptick reported by “analysts and retailers,” rather than pinning it on Counterpoint alone.
What the check covered, and what it did not
This is a small sample. IANS says Pathak’s assessment followed a look at data from 12 stores. The Business Standard report says Counterpoint’s feedback came from store inspections in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Jaipur and Meerut, and that the uptick varied by city within that range. That is a slice of north India on a single day, not a national count.
Don’t miss the best of The Mac Observer
Set us as a preferred source and our Apple reporting ranks higher in your Google Search results and Discover feed — one tap, no account changes.
It also measures the first day, when demand is highest. Pathak was careful about that. “Early feedback is positive, though we’ll need to monitor performance over a longer window once the initial launch hype stabilises,” he said.
Apple has not published sales figures for India or any other market. Counterpoint’s range is one of the first research-firm reads of iPhone 18 Pro demand, and it is a preliminary estimate from store checks.
Burgundy and bigger storage
The color finding is the clearest signal. “Burgundy color is in demand and along with interest for higher storage variants,” Pathak told IANS. The same Counterpoint research has Burgundy replacing last year’s orange as the top choice in India.
The storage point matters because India’s prices are already high. Apple’s India store lists iPhone 18 Pro from ₹1,64,900 and iPhone 18 Pro Max from ₹1,79,900, both with 256GB as the base storage.
According to IANS, retailers said launch-day stock sent to stores had largely sold out and new allocations were being assigned. That is the retailers’ account, not a figure from Counterpoint or Apple, and it describes store stock rather than national supply.
Why demand may be concentrated
Two factors shape this year’s comparison. First, there is no standard iPhone 18 alongside the Pro models this year. Industry experts quoted by IANS said that concentrated demand on the two Pro models, which would lift a Pro-to-Pro comparison. Second, according to IANS, Apple’s resellers are driving volume across regions, while Apple’s own stores are seeing launch-day surges on the back of strong pre-orders.
Apple sells the new phones in India through its online store, its six retail stores, authorised resellers, online marketplaces and large retailers. Apple’s launch offers include ₹7,000 instant cashback on eligible card EMI purchases and ₹6,000 on eligible full-payment card purchases, and trade-ins in India work differently from other countries.
How it fits with other launch reads
Counterpoint’s check points the same way as the more upbeat analyst reads in the US, but it is a different kind of evidence. US analysts have mostly tracked delivery estimates on Apple’s online store, where many models showed October delivery during pre-orders. A store check counts buyers walking in on launch day.
The next test in India is iPhone Duo, which IANS says is expected to reach the Indian market from October 23. Whether Counterpoint’s early read holds up will be clearer once there is more than one day of sales to look at.
