I bought my first iPhone in 2015 - an used iPhone 5s bought during my college days in Singapore. While it wasn’t really a big deal to own an iPhone in Singapore, in India, it was.
It would turn heads every time I took the phone out. My peers marveled at it, and it was an automatic conversation starter.
That’s how the iPhone was perceived in India - a status symbol, above anything else. 10 years later, that image has not changed.
Owning the latest iPhone is still the ultimate flex, and this feeling of premium-ness, and aura has only been amplified by social media, and some clever brand psychology by Apple.
But what has changed in these 10 years is that that device that seemed almost unaffordable, seems well within everyone’s financial reach.
And this reach has been made possible by no-cost EMIs (Easy Monthly Instalments).
No-cost EMIs and changing consumer behaviour
The latest iPhone 17 base model costs a little over Rs. 82,000. Put that figure against the average monthly salary of an Indian, which is somewhere between Rs. 20-25,000.
For a significant portion of the population wanting to own an iPhone, the cost of owning it is far more than their monthly salary. But break that into monthly instalments, and that figure drops down to 4000-5000 a month, sometimes even lower.
Meanwhile, people often tend to overlook the hidden costs on this scheme.
That premium phone feels affordable now. And it isn’t just the premium phone, but no-cost EMIs have become the modern consumer behaviour in India for most purchases.
And this represents a generational shift in spending patterns. While the previous generation i.e. our parents strictly followed the “save first, spend later” motto, we have embraced that “buy now, pay later” way of life.
While the previous generation was strictly against debt, our generation jumps face-first into it, with a sense of pride even. We are chasing instant gratification and dopamine hits, regardless of the financial cost.
A generation that's financially overextended but socially validated, because buying an iPhone is a decision that is increasingly based on emotion.
This is how Apple became one of the top five best-selling smartphone brands in India, with tier-II and tier-III cities seeing a massive increase in iPhone sales.
Who should buy an iPhone?
However, it must be noted that there is another side to this. With more people getting into content creation - for them owning an iPhone makes sense, even if they are financially overextending, because for them, the device is an investment, and something that will sustain their livelihood.
The problem lies with that part of the population who overextend their finances to own an iPhone for its flex factor.
And that is why you will come across news reports of individuals stealing jewellery or coercing their family to buy them an iPhone. This often results in families having to cut back on other expenses to be able to afford these EMIs.
It is usually after the shine of the new iPhone has faded, or the next iPhone has launched is when most people realise the financial burden they have put upon themselves. By then, the phone has lost most of its value, but your EMI payments are still ongoing.
Moreover, there is a flipside to this EMI boom. The RBI is pondering on allowing lenders to block phones if EMIs are not paid. While it's all still iffy, it does seem to point to some deep-seated problems with the buy-now-pay-later model.
This is not to discourage buying the iPhone. If you can afford the phone without hurting your savings, then buy one. But if you are overextending your finances and hurting your savings, just to own an iPhone, then it might not be a very wise decision.
The iPhone obsession in India is more than just a consumer choice—it's a mirror reflecting deeper anxieties about status, success, and social acceptance in a rapidly changing urban India.
As the country stands at an economic crossroads, the question isn't whether Indians should buy iPhones, but whether they can afford the long-term cost of this collective financial behavior.
The math is clear, the risks are evident, and the choices are individual.
But the consequences—for families, for communities, and for the nation's financial health—are collective.
In a country where an iPhone costs over two months of work, perhaps it's time to ask: is the status worth the price?