At 7, iPhone 7, the latest smartphone of Apple went on sale in India.
In Bengaluru, Binny Bansal, co-founder and chief executive officer of Flipkart delivered the first iPhone 7 within 30 minutes of the official launch of the smartphone to a customer in its neighbourhood.
Bansal, wearing the official blue jersey of Ekart, Flipkart’s delivery arm rode pillion on motorbike with his delivery colleague to reach the home of Gaurav at HSR layout, who became the first person to get the iPhone 7. For both Bansals -- Sachin in his hometown Chandigarh and Binny in Bengaluru -- it has been a day of delivering products and meeting those customers who bought them on the platform.
First happy customer - Gaurav from HSR. 30 mins after launch at his home. He is super delighted pic.twitter.com/IALzSQYZfu
— binnybansal (@binnybansal) October 7, 2016
But it is not just that shoppers bought iPhone 7 online. Hoards of people thronged around the Apple Store at Bengaluru’s upmarket UB City mall on this Friday evening in anticipation of the launch of the latest iPhone 7. They were all waiting impatiently to be the first to get their hands on the new device, a trend Apple has very successfully executed across the globe.
These millennials, who had lined up at the store on a Friday night, were clearly sacrificing being out with friends at one of the many pubs around the UB City area.
Second delivery. A gift from Preeti to her hubby Saurabh. They exchanged their old iPhone 6 and got 18k discount !! #makingthe7affordable pic.twitter.com/hUR55G9gPE
— binnybansal (@binnybansal) October 7, 2016
Apple, which is pitching India as the next big market, brought the phones to the country in three weeks, unlike in the past when it would take months.
Google has also has brought in Flipkart as an exclusive online partner for its Pixel smartphone in India. Pitted against the iPhone, in terms of price and features, is looking to subdue sales of Apple’s flagship device in the country by opening up pre-orders on October 13.