Here’s why purchasing an Apple Watch in India is now a more intelligent choice than relying on your cousin to bring it from the US.
Indians love Apple Watch or other Apple products so they try their best to get a good deal. In most cases, that means asking a cousin or even a friend to pick it up in the US. This has been done for years on iPhone and Apple Watch, but for various reasons the practice may have to stop and people would actually do well to buy from India itself.
Recently, Apple had to stop selling the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models in the US due to a patent dispute. The company was eventually allowed to be sold, but at the cost of removing the health property of blood oxygen in the area. In short, buying an Apple Watch from the US and using it in India means you might pay less for the product, but you’ll lose the health feature and won’t be able to use it here.
The restriction only applies to new Apple Watch models that the company ships to US stores. The Rs 5,000-10,000 you save on buying a watch from the US and shipping it to India will be counterproductive if some important feature isn’t available on the device.
For example, if you want to buy the 45mm Apple Watch Series 9 in India, it will come down to Rs 42,000 with bank offers. Buying the same model in the US will cost you Rs 35,000, but that’s pre-tax in the US, adding Rs 3,000-4,000 to the final total.
So, at the end of the day, you are left with just Rs 3,000 difference between India and US prices. If you are looking to buy an Apple Watch specifically for the blood oxygen feature, we strongly recommend that you buy it in India and get all the features unlocked at no extra cost to access these tools.
