My first iPhone was the iPhone 3GS. I was a loyal Nokia user before that, but the all-touch panel and 3G connectivity swung the vote in the iPhone's favor. The phone was unveiled back in August 2009, but it didn't go on sale in India until the end of March, 2010. Unwilling to wait, I ordered the phone from the U.S., and had a relative bring it over.
That was the preferred route of getting an iPhone into the country back then, and while it has become easier to pick up Apple's devices in India, thousands of people still buy iPhones from elsewhere and use it in the subcontinent. A lot of that has to do with the pricing of iPhones in India: after factoring in the import taxes, India is one of the costliest markets to own an iPhone.
For instance, the 64GB variant of the iPhone 8, which retails for $699 in the U.S., costs ₹60,999 in India. That comes out to $940, or a differential of $240. Combine that with easy access to the U.S., UK, and Dubai markets (Indians like to emigrate), and there's a flood of imported iPhones in use in India.
The downside with getting an iPhone from abroad was the lack of after-sales support. Apple India honored international warranties for Macs and other product lines, but the only way to get iPhones serviced in India was if you bought them locally in the country. That's finally changing, as Apple India is now starting to honor warranties for iPhones bought outside the country.
As noted by GSM Arena, you can now buy an iPhone in any country in the world, and get after-sales support in India. That's welcome news for those looking to save a few hundred dollars by picking up the device in other markets. It looks like Apple made the decision to honor international warranties a few months ago, so if you managed to pick up the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus from abroad, you should be able to claim warranty on it.
