Tip for all Indian iPhone 6 fans

On Friday, millions and millions of people in the US and nine other countries will flock to Apple stores and get their iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 plus. Unfortunately, for us Indians, the wait is longer as Apple is set to launch the iPhone 6 in India on October 17. But what happens to someone who does not want to wait and import it right away?

Well, the instinct is to get it from the US, but that will not be a wise choice. Instead we suggest that one should buy it from Hong Kong.

Why Hong Kong? Because the model of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in the US does not support the TD-LTE band 40, which is used by many carriers in India. Of course, there are carriers who are looking to launch their LTE services on the 1800MHz FD-LTE band, which is used in the US and Europe, but their launch is not clear right now.

This may result in a situation where your spanking new iPhone 6 will be incompatible with the fastest data networks in the country.

The model sold in Hong Kong not only possesses the TD-LTE band 40 but is the cheapest iPhone in the world after the one sold in the US. In the US, the unlocked iPhone 6 starts at $649 (Rs 39,624) for the 16 GB model, and goes up to $849 (Rs 51,835) for the 128 GB model.

In Hong Kong, it is slightly more expensive at HKD 5,588 (Rs 43,900) for the 16 GB model going up to HKD 7,188 (Rs 56,450) for the 128 GB model.

In India, the iPhone 6 is expected to be a minimum Rs 10,000 more expensive than the US and could incur a significant premium. If one is looking at an import, then for Indian's Hong Kong seems like the best place to import the iPhone from.

It goes without saying that the consumer will lose out on the warranty of the device if it is imported. In fact, if something goes awry hardware wise Apple resellers and service centres in India will not even touch the device if it is imported.

One should also be mindful, that for the iPhone to work in India it should be carrier unlocked. A phone that is cheaper than the prices we have mentioned is likely on contract or a fake.