Croma Data Shows Strong Apple Loyalty as 1 in 5 iPhone Buyers Exchange for a New Model

Bengaluru: As anticipation builds for the launch of Apple’s next iPhones, Croma, India’s leading omni-channel electronics retailer from the Tata Group, shares key insights into how India buys its iPhones. The study analysed iPhones sold over a year between September 2024 and August 2025 to reveal which storage and colours win, where demand is concentrated, and how consumers across the country upgrade and protect their devices.

Geographically, Maharashtra emerged as the largest iPhone market for Croma with over 25% share of sales during the period. Gujarat was a distant second with 11% and Delhi came a close third with 10%, underscoring a broad base of demand across both western and northern India.

Model mix and size preferences point to value-led choices. Non-Pro iPhones formed just over 86% of total sales, compared to 14% for Pro models, a difference that highlights the strength of mainstream devices as volume drivers. Screen size exhibited a similar pattern with standard-size models such as iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16e comprising over 87% of sales, while larger-screen devices including iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro Max made up 12.5%, a skew toward the smaller footprint.

Across storage tiers, Indian buyers overwhelmingly chose practicality. The 128GB variant accounted for nearly a third of the iPhone purchases, followed by 256GB at 24.4%, while the higher capacities of 512GB and 1TB together contributed under one percent.

Colour preferences among iPhone buyers revealed clear favourites. Black emerged as the most popular choice, accounting for 26.2% of total iPhone purchases, closely followed by Blue at 23.8%. White also remained a strong contender, making up 20.2% of the devices sold. These trends reflect a continued consumer preference for classic and versatile colour options.

Consumer behaviour around switching, upgrading, and protection highlights the stickiness of Apple’s ecosystem. During this year, 20.5% exchanged an older iPhone for a new model, evidencing a robust upgrade culture. Protection plan adoption also trended higher with 17% of all buyers adding AppleCare, with adoption highest on the latest iPhone 16 series at 20%, followed by iPhone 15 at 14%, iPhone 13 at 8%, and iPhone 14 at 4%.