‘First day matters’: iPhone 18 buyers queue up across India; customers call camera and AI features worth upgrade

New Delhi: Long queues and enthusiastic customers marked the first sale of Apple’s iPhone 18 series in India on Friday with buyers turning up early at Apple stores in the national capital, Maharashtra and Karnataka to get their hands on the latest series.

Sales of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max began at 8 am with a large number of customers arriving at Apple stores, including the outlets at Mumbai’s BKC and Delhi’s Select Citywalk.

Speaking to IANS, excited buyers said they had pre-booked the devices and arrived at the stores according to their allotted slots.

“I have already booked online. We have a 9 am slot and have booked two phones,” a customer waiting outside an Apple store told IANS.

At a Delhi store, one customer said he was buying the iPhone 18 Pro and had been using Apple’s smartphones for years. “I am very excited and am buying the iPhone 18 Pro. I buy a new iPhone every year. I have been using iPhones since 2009, starting with the iPhone 4, and have used all the variants so far,” he said.

Another Delhi customer said he was buying the iPhone 18 Pro Max 512 GB for his daughter, who was unaware of the purchase. “I have been using iPhones since 2008, starting with the iPhone 3G. This will be her first iPhone, and she is very excited. She does not know that I am buying it for her, so I think she will be surprised,” he said.

The first sale also drew buyers who travelled long distances to Mumbai.

One customer said he travelled from Gujarat and reached the store at around 6 am after visiting Lalbaugcha Raja. “I have booked the iPhone 18 Pro. It costs around Rs 1.64 lakh,” he said, while highlighting features including a new camera shutter, a smaller Dynamic Island and the A20 processor. He also mentioned the new Cherry Red colour.

Another buyer travelled from Surat and purchased both the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

“I have come all the way from Surat. I bought both the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max. My travel took around five to six hours. After reaching here, I waited for another six hours and spent around two and a half hours in the queue,” he said. For the buyer, the first-day purchase was as much about the experience as the device itself.

“I have been emotionally connected with the iPhone for a long time. All iPhone users know that whether there is something new in the phone or not, getting the new phone on the first day matters,” he said.

“I am very happy, absolutely happy, and 100 per cent satisfied. I have been waiting since 10 pm,” he added.

Moreover, actor Vicky Kaushal was also at the Apple Store in BKC as sales of the iPhone 18 series began in India.

Similarly, in Bengaluru, customers also arrived early for the first sale.

One Bengaluru buyer, who had been waiting since around 5:30 am, said improvements to the camera and AI features were among the reasons for his excitement.

“The camera quality is better… The AI feature is also new, and Siri is also better this time. So, I’m eagerly waiting to use it,” he said.

However, ahead of the opening of stores, long queues were also seen outside Apple’s Select Citywalk store in Saket.

One customer waiting to purchase the device said he needed several phones and had pre-ordered the iPhone 18 Pro Max.

“I need to buy 5-7 phones. I have come here to purchase the iPhone 18 Pro Max that I pre-ordered,” he said.

Another buyer from Karnataka said he reached the store around 6 am and was excited to discover that he was the first customer to open the new phone.

“I don’t upgrade every year. I upgrade only when I feel it’s worth it. I was using the iPhone 11, then the 13. Now I thought, after five years, it’s definitely worth the upgrade,” the customer said.

IANS