E-commerce major Flipkart has partnered tech giant Apple to sell the latest edition of
iPhone on its platform from October 7.
This is the first time that Apple has collaborated with an e-commerce company in India to sell a new iPhone version.
"Flipkart will offer iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus... beginning on October 7," Flipkart said in a statement. Customers can pre-order the phones from September 29 at 23:59 hours from the company's website, it added.
Unveiled earlier this month, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus would be available in India at a starting price of Rs 60,000.
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB storage variants in silver, gold and rose gold colours. The new jet black colour variant will come only in 128GB and 256GB variants.
While the 32GB phone will be available for Rs 60,000, the pricing of the other models has not been disclosed. iPhone 7 features a 4.7-inch display with 3D touch, while iPhone 7 Plus has a 5.5-inch Retina HD display with 3D touch.
Both the smartphones are powered by a new quad-core Apple A10
Fusion processor, which it claims is 40 per cent faster than the previous generation.
The iOS 10-powered iPhone 7 sports a 12MP iSight camera and 4K video recording. The iPhone 7 Plus has dual 12MP rear cameras — one wide-angle and a telephoto lens.
Both iPhones have a similar 7MP Facetime camera, which is bumped up from 5MP on the iPhone 6S. The handsets come with IP67 rating, signifying the fact that it is water and dust resistant, a first for the Apple smartphone.
The models also have a new home button which is now touch sensitive and uses a new Taptic engine for better response.
Apple has also has done away with the 3.5mm audio jack that has been the industry standard since the Walkman.
The Cupertino-based company is betting big on the Indian market. In July, Apple CEO Tim Cook had said that India is one of its fastest growing markets.
"In the first three quarters of this fiscal year, our iPhone sales in India were up 51 per cent year-on-year," he had said on an investor call.
The company has also announced setting up of a design and development accelerator to support Indian developers creating innovative applications for iOS and has opened a new office in Hyderabad to accelerate maps development.
Cook, who visited India in May, had discussed issues including manufacturing and setting up retail stores in the country with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
