EMIs, cashbacks turn iPhone 16 into India's best-seller

Apple Inc. has notched another feat in India—fuelled by easy credit, cashbacks and aspirational Indians, the iPhone 16 is now the country’s highest-selling smartphone, eclipsing the most popular budget model from China's Vivo.

- Shouvik Das

The iPhone 16 series, launched about 15 months ago, sold 6.5 million units in the first 11 months of 2025, according to data from Gurugram-based Counterpoint Research. Y29 5G from BBK Electronics-backed Vivo ranked second with 4.7 million shipped during the period.

Even the iPhone 15 featured among the five top-selling devices. That's when Apple's phones, starting at ₹47,000 for iPhone 15, sell at more than three times the price of Vivo's bestselling handset, which retails at ₹14,000.

"There is a definite premiumization drive in India, and the iPhone is the poster boy for this dynamic shift in India’s smartphone market," said Tarun Pathak, research director for consumer devices at Counterpoint. "While volume growth has been limited, buyers are coming in for more premium devices driven by the widespread availability of financing schemes.”

Growing iPhone shipments mirror Apple’s bet on India.