The Aporia · Sell family jewels for latest iPhone? In India, craze dials up debate

Sell family jewels for latest iPhone? In India, craze dials up debate

Read the original at South China Morning Post ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Mukherji, B. (2026, September 29). Sell family jewels for latest iPhone? In India, craze dials up debate. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3369235/sell-family-jewels-latest-iphone-india-craze-dials-debate?utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

In India, there is significant debate over people's eagerness to purchase the latest iPhone models despite their high prices, which start at 164,900 rupees (US$1,700) and go up to 329,900 rupees. Some consumers are willing to wait in line for hours and even sell personal assets like family jewelry to afford these devices, highlighting India's role as a rapidly growing market for Apple, the world’s second-largest smartphone market by volume.

Written by AI on 2026-09-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In India, the craze over the new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, released on September 22, 2023, is causing debate due to their high prices starting at 164,900 rupees (US$1,700) for the iPhone 18 Pro and 179,900 rupees for the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Some consumers are even willing to wait in lines for hours or sell valuable possessions just to own these devices. Despite their steep costs, which may not make financial sense for many Indians, analysts note that consumer desire often overrides rational thinking. India, being the world's second-largest smartphone market by volume, has become a crucial sales territory for Apple, with rapid growth in iPhone sales reflecting this trend.

Written for “iPhone Craze in India” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

33%

1 of 3 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

63/100

South China Morning Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Technology

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

South China Morning Post · 3615 article(s) · 7 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 7 correction(s)

2026-11-01

Former Apple Daily publisher joins mainland China tour for rehabilitated offenders

2026-10-16

Nobel Peace Prize: the message behind Navi Pillay’s win

2026-10-16

Indonesian governor’s Singapore trip adds fury to forest fire, haze crisis

2026-10-04

Flight to Okinawa diverts back to Hong Kong after suspected landing gear fault

2026-10-04

Tennessee prisons chief resigning after botched execution of Christa Pike

2026-09-29

Indonesian prison chief suspended over secret VIP compound for inmates

2026-09-28

Trump ‘arms offer’ to China jolts Washington into moves to contain the fallout

Who wrote this

Biman Mukherji

18 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Heavier armour threatens to delay its deployment In its base configuration, the Zorawar weighs some 25 tonnes – light enough to be flown all the way to the Line of Actual Control – but a push to make it strong enough to withstand high-calibre autocannon fire could add an extra seven tonnes to that loadout.

2026-11-01 · mixed framing · Armour vs altitude: India’s light tank dilemma along China border

🔮 The Congress party leader sharpens his attacks against the ruling BJP, but analysts doubt public campaigns alone will translate into votes 3-MIN READ3-MIN Listen

2026-10-30 · assertive framing · India’s Rahul Gandhi takes on Modi, but can grass-roots defiance win votes?

🔮 Japan’s push to expand industrial and port cooperation with Bangladesh could transform the South Asian country into a regional trade gateway, analysts say, connecting markets in Southeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific while diversifying Dhaka’s economic ties.

2026-10-28 · mixed framing · Japan’s US$6 billion port plan aims to revive Bangladesh’s bruised economy

🔮 “We need to induct two fighter squadrons every year,” Singh said on October 3, noting that “between 36 and 40 aircraft” would need to be produced annually to meet India’s target of having 42 fighter squadrons in service.

2026-10-19 · assertive framing · India needs more fighter jets. It cannot build them fast enough

🔮 India’s proposed social media ban for under-18s wins parents’ backing Lawyers, however, advise against a sweeping ban, saying children could benefit from access to online educational content Digangana Mukherjee, a mother of a six-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy, has banned television at her home in the Indian city of Mysore because she does not want her children to become addicted to watching content on screen.

2026-10-16 · mixed framing · India’s proposed social media ban for under-18s wins parents’ backing

🔮 Is Ambani the real boss of India?” he wrote, suggesting Reliance Group chairman Mukesh Ambani – one of India’s wealthiest tycoons whose sprawling conglomerate has a major footprint across the economy – might wield undue influence over the licensing process.

2026-10-09 · assertive framing · Elon Musk’s Starlink row in India exposes Asia’s deeper battle over satellite power

🔮 The victim, 23, who later died from her injuries, was dubbed Nirbhaya – the fearless one – as she could not be named under Indian law.

2026-10-07 · assertive framing · 14 years after Nirbhaya gang rape horror, has India progressed on women’s safety?

🔮 India’s Modi faces dual pressure from ‘cockroach’ movement, opposition parties The two groups’ objection to the revised voter rolls has fuelled speculation that they could become a new potent political force Leaders of around 20 parties in the opposition India National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA, rallied against the Election Commission’s revised voter rolls, which critics say have potentially removed millions of eligible voters from the electoral register.

2026-10-02 · speculative framing · India’s Modi faces dual pressure from ‘cockroach’ movement, opposition parties

🔮 The new iPhones might not make sense financially in India, but the desire for one is not always rational, analysts say The iPhone 18 Pro starts at 164,900 rupees (US$1,700) and goes up to 179,000 rupees, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at 179,900 rupees and maxes out at 329,900 rupees.

2026-09-29 · mixed framing · Sell family jewels for latest iPhone? In India, craze dials up debate

🔮 Leaders of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on Thursday demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, after a local newspaper reported allegations that his handling of voter-list revisions could disenfranchise eligible voters and undermine confidence in India’s electoral process.

2026-09-25 · assertive framing · India’s ‘cockroach’ movement targets election chief in political pivot

Also by Biman Mukherji

Armour vs altitude: India’s light tank dilemma along China border

2026-11-01 · South China Morning Post

India’s Rahul Gandhi takes on Modi, but can grass-roots defiance win votes?

2026-10-30 · South China Morning Post

Japan’s US$6 billion port plan aims to revive Bangladesh’s bruised economy

2026-10-28 · South China Morning Post

Economic fears fuel protests in India, France as ‘social contract’ breaks down

2026-10-23 · South China Morning Post

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 18 articles by Biman Mukherji →

Topics

India The iPhone 18 Pro iPhone iPhones the iPhone 18 Pro Max

Subjects

India GPE · 3× Apple ORG · 1×

Narrative

The excitement among consumers – with some standing in line for hours – underscored how India, the world’s second largest smartphone market by volume, has emerged as one of the fastest growing sales sources for Apple.

framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-29

2026-09-29 · South China Morning Post

Sell family jewels for latest iPhone? In India, craze dials up debate · mixed framing

Claims (3 extracted, 1 hedged)

In India, craze dials up debate asserted

craze → dial → debate

The new iPhones might not make sense financially in India, but the desire for one is not always rational, analysts say The iPhone 18 Pro starts at 164,900 rupees (US$1,700) and goes up to 179,000 rupees, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at 179,900 rupees and maxes out at 329,900 rupees. uncertain

Max → make → rupees

India → stand → Apple