In India, the new iPhone can arrive faster than a pizza

Several Indian quick-commerce services began selling Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max when the handsets went on sale in the country, enabling some buyers to receive the phones within minutes of ordering. The delivery apps involved — Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy’s Instamart and BigBasket — are primarily known for rapid grocery and everyday-item deliveries but have been expanding into categories such as electronics and fashion.

Demand on launch day was evident in early sales figures. BigBasket reported delivering more than 300 iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max units during the first hour of availability. Instamart said Bengaluru generated the most orders for the Pro series, followed by Delhi, and that the Burgundy 256 GB iPhone 18 Pro accounted for nearly a third of its sales.

Despite those bursts of activity, stock levels shifted quickly: TechCrunch observed that some platforms and locations ran out of the new Pro models within hours while inventory remained available for delivery in other parts of cities like Delhi and Bengaluru. Industry analysts said the episode is an initial validation that quick commerce can handle high-value smartphone sales in major urban markets, though volumes are still small relative to total iPhone sales.

Analysts noted several factors that make India conducive to this model: a rapidly growing quick-commerce user base, established consumer trust in these platforms for routine purchases, and official brand partnerships that boost buyer confidence in purchasing expensive goods through delivery apps. At the same time, experts cautioned that for now quick-commerce’s role in smartphone sales looks mainly like a launch-day phenomenon that generates publicity and convenience rather than a primary ongoing sales channel.