In a move that’s bound to help the rapidly falling iPhone sales in India, Apple has substantially discounted the iPhone XR in the country. The iPhone XR carries an MRP of Rs 76,900 in India, though post the discount, it is available at Rs 59,900.

HDFC card owners can get a further discount of 10 percent via a cashback which brings the price of the iPhone XR down to Rs 53,900 for them. This makes the iPhone XR cheaper than the likes of the Galaxy S10 series in India and makes the phone a far more attractive proposition than its original launch price of Rs 76,900.

The 128GB and 256GB variants of the phone have also seen a similar price cut and will be available for Rs 64,900 and Rs 74,900, respectively. HDFC credit/debit cardholders will get an additional 10 percent cashback on top of this amount. The discount is also applicable for customers who opt for 12 or 24-month EMI transactions.

With the discounted price, the iPhone XR pricing in India is in line with what it is priced in the United States. When its original launch price of Rs 76,900 ($1,099) was converted into US$, the iPhone XR was more expensive than what the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max costed in the United  States. The discount definitely makes the iPhone XR an attractive proposition especially against newer 2019 Android flagships like the Galaxy S10 series and the upcoming Huawei P30 Pro.

Our Take

The iPhone XR was widely expected to do well in price-sensitive markets like India as despite its slightly lower price tag, it offered almost the same set of features as its bigger and more expensive iPhone XS sibling. However, the high launch price meant that customers shied away from the handset and instead ended up buying a cheaper Android device. It remains to be seen if Apple will end up offering a similar discount on the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max in India.

Despite a few compromises that it makes, the iPhone XR is a great smartphone. It shares the same internals as its more expensive iPhone XS sibling and makes up for the design and display compromises by offering a longer battery life than them.