Apple unveiled three new iPhone models at its annual September event – the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus. The India pre-bookings for the iPhone X will open on October 27, while the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus India pre-bookings open on midnight, Friday, September 22. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus pre-bookings will be available on Flipkart, Infibeam, Amazon, and various authorised Apple Resellers in the country, including large format retail outlets. Reliance Jio will also be taking pre-bookings for the new iPhone 8 models at Reliance Digital outlets, Jio Stores, and Jio.com website between September 22 and September 29, and will offer lucrative offers alongside.
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iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus pre-booking online: Amazon India, Flipkart, Infibeam
The Amazon India iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus pre-bookings page will go live at 12.00am IST on Friday i.e., September 22, and to get notified about it, sign up here. Even Flipkart has listed both the smartphones, and is offering No Cost EMI options, 10 percent off on SBI bank debit and credit cards, 10 percent off on payments through PhonePe wallet, and 5 percent off on Axis Bank Buzz credit cards. To register for pre-bookings on Flipkart, head here. Just like Amazon India, Infibeam is also starting pre-orders from midnight, and you can register for notifications here. More offers on Flipkart, and pre-booking deals on Amazon India and Infibeam will go live when the pre-bookings begin.
iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus pre-bookings through Reliance Jio
The new iPhone 8 models will also be up for pre-bookings at Reliance Digital outlets, Jio Stores, and Jio.com website. Consumers who book the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, between September 22 and September 29, will be eligible for Rs. 10,000 cashback on the purchase. In order to claim the offer, they will need to make the purchase via Citibank credit card. This will bring down the effective price of the base 64GB iPhone 8 model to Rs. 54,000, while the 256GB model will drop to Rs. 67,000. Similarly, the effective prices of the 64GB and 256GB iPhone 8 Plus will become Rs. 63,000 and Rs. 76,000, respectively.
Apart from the cashback, consumers who purchase the new iPhone 8 models from Reliance Digital, Jio.com, Jio Store, and MyJio app will also get 70 percent cashback if they return the handset after a year. So someone who bought the iPhone 8 Plus 256GB for its full price of Rs. 86,000, they will get back Rs. 60,200 upon returning the phone after a year of using it.
Jio will also launch an exclusive tariff plan for the two Apple smartphones. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus buyers can opt for the upcoming Rs. 799 plan that provides 90GB of data, free SMSes, subscription to Jio apps, and free calls. The validity of the plan is 28 days for prepaid users, and one billing cycle for postpaid users.
iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus offline pre-bookings
Coming to offline retail, Redington India has confirmed that both the iPhones can be pre-ordered from any of its 3,000 stores across the country. Expect the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus to also be available for pre-orders in large format stores like Croma, Maple, Vijay Sales, and more. Offers in these retail stores will vary, and head to the nearest store tomorrow, to know more about them.
iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus price, specifications, features
The iPhone 8 price in India for the 64GB variant is Rs. 64,000, while the 256GB model costs Rs. 77,000. Similarly, the iPhone 8 Plus price in India has been set as Rs. 73,000 for the base 64GB storage variant, while the model with 256GB storage is Rs. 86,000.
The iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus offer incremental improvements over the last year’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models. They very much retain the same form factor and design, but there are a few noticeable changes including new colour options – Silver, Space Gray, and Gold Finish, improved display, 25 percent louder speakers, as well as glass front and back. Both the new iPhone models also support Qi wireless inductive charging, allowing people charge the iPhone without having to plug in a cable again.
Apple’s iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are powered by A11 Bionic SoC six-core processors and improved GPU, which is 30 percent more efficient than the GPUs in last year’s models. The new SoC and GPU are able to perform complex tasks such as video encoding at much faster rate.
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus also come with improved cameras, Apple said, adding that photos now have better detail, texture even as the iPhone 8 continues to have 12-megapixel camera, and the iPhone 8 Plus a duo of 12-megapixel camera sensors. Among other new capabilities, both the new iPhone models can shoot 1080p videos in 240 frames per second.
