[Update: Apple has confirmed that the new iPhone 6S series will indeed released next month, 16 October to be precise]
Original story:
American technology giant Apple is reportedly planning to release the newly unveiled iPhone 6S in India as early as next month.
On 9 September, Apple unveiled the company's new line of iPhone 6S series in USA, which is slated to hit select markets later this month. But there was no official word on when the devices will be made available in India.
Now The Economic Times, citing company insiders, has claimed that the Cupertino company has advanced the release date of the flagship smartphones in India. They are expected to hit stores around 10-11 October, to take on arch-rival Samsung's new S6 Edge+ that was released a few weeks ago for Rs 57,990 and the Galaxy Note 5 that is set to be made available on 20 September.
Some might argue that considering Samsung's devices were released well ahead of iPhone 6S series and they stand a chance to get a head start over Apple's devices, but as per industry sources Apple has actually advanced iPhone 6S series launch in India by a month.
If previous years' launch patterns were to be taken as any indication, iPhone 6S were supposed to set foot in India just days ahead of auspicious Diwali (aka Deepavali), a three-day festival of lights, which falls in November this year.
In this case, Samsung would have got two months advantage over Apple and could use its cash reserve to book advertisement slots in prime-time television programs and other media outlets. It could have drummed up enough buzz prior to the festival season, which is slated to kick start on 22 October (Dussehra aka Dasara in South India) and continue till mid-November culminating with Diwali (aka Deepavali).
But now the new iPhone 6S series smartphones are slated to hit stores in the second week of October, the first time that Apple devices are setting foot in the country so soon after release.
In a related development, Apple is reported to launch the flagship Watch in India in a few weeks time. As of now, there is no word on Apple Watch's price, but it will certainly be more than Rs 20,000, which is way higher when compared to US and other European markets. The steep price is due to the imposition of custom duty, and the rupee's depreciation to the US Dollar
Read more: Key Feature of Apple Watch and US Retail Price Details
Key specifications of Samsung Galaxy Note 5, S6 Edge+, Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus:
| Model | Samsung Galaxy Note 5 | Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ | Apple iPhone 6S | Apple iPhone 6S Plus |
| Display | 5.7-inch WQHD (2560x1440p) super AMOLED screen
|
5.7-inch WQHD (2560x1440p) super AMOLED screen
|
4.7-inch LED-backlit IPS screen with Retina HD (aka full HD) with 1334 x 750p resolution
|
5.5- inch LED-backlit IPS screen with Retina HD (aka full HD) with 1920x1080p resolution
|
| OS | Android 5.1.1 Lollipop | Android 5.1.1 Lollipop | Apple iOS 9.0 | Apple iOS 9.0 |
| Processor | 14 nm process based Exynos 7420 Octa-core (2.1GHz Quad + 1.5GHz Quad) CPU + Mali-T760 | 14 nm process based Exynos 7420 Octa-core (2.1GHz Quad + 1.5GHz Quad) CPU+ Mali-T760 | 64-bit 3rd generation Apple A9( It is 70% and 90% faster in terms of CPU and GPU speeds compared to A8, seen in 2014 based iPhone 6 models) | 64-bit 3rd generation Apple A9( It is 70% and 90% faster in terms of CPU and GPU speeds compared to A8, seen in 2014 based iPhone 6 models) |
| Storage + RAM capacity | 32GB/64GB + 4GB RAM LPDDR4 series | 32GB + 4GB RAM LPDDR4 series | 16GB/64GB/128GB | 16GB/64GB/128GB |
| Camera |
|
|
|
|
| Battery | 3,000mAh, Fast Charging both on wired and wireless
|
3,000mAh, Fast Charging both on wired and wireless
|
|
|
| Network | 4G-LTE (Cat. 9 or Cat. 6) depending on the regional network | 4G-LTE (Cat. 9 or Cat. 6) depending on the regional network | 4G-LTE | 4G-LTE |
| Add-ons | Finger print-sensor, new advanced S-Pen stylus, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, MIMO(2x2), Bluetooth v 4.2 LE, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC, Location |
Finger print-sensor, new advanced S-Pen stylus, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, MIMO(2x2), Bluetooth v 4.2 LE, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC, Location |
Finger-print sensor, 3D Touch display, Wi-Fi, NFC (Apple Pay only), Assisted GPS and GLONASS | Finger-print sensor, 3D Touch display, Wi-Fi, NFC (Apple Pay only ), Assisted GPS and GLONASS |
| Dimensions | 153.2 x 76.1 x 7.6 mm | 154.4 x 75.8 x 6.9 mm | 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm | 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm |
| Weight | 171 g | 153 g | 143 g | 192 g |
| Colours | White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum and Silver Titanium. | White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum and Silver Titanium. | silver, gold, space gray and a new rose gold | silver, gold, space gray and a new rose gold |
| Price |
|
₹57,900/- | Yet to be announced | Yet to be announced |
