New Apple iPhones fail to cause as much frenzy in India this time! Indian customers flocked the retail stores during midnight launch of Apple Inc's new iPhones ? 6s and 6s Plus but the queues weren't long enough to excite retailers.

Conversations with general, modern and online trade across cities, such as Mumbai and Delhi, suggest the opening weekend has seen a lukewarm response to the new iPhones. Cumulative sales over the first weekend are projected to be in the region of 50,000 across all retail formats.

The company is said to have shipped around three times last year's number in anticipation of good sales. But initial sales trends suggest sale has been only around 30 per cent as customers expect a drop in prices.

The base price of the iPhone 6s is 16 per cent more than that of the iPhone 6 16GB at Rs 62,000. The iPhone 6s Plus 128 GB variant costs Rs 92,000.

This year, Apple had collaborated with several websites besides the conventional online marketplaces to boost sales including Gadgets 360, Infibeam and Paytm, as well as telecom operators Vodafone and Airtel, who had all started pre-bookings prior to launch.

Brick-and-mortar chains such as The Mobile Store, Spice HotSpot, promoted by S Mobility, and the Tata-owned Croma offered pre-bookings. Even city-specific dealers offered pre-bookings to take advantage of the hype.

As per reports, prices are likely to fall below Rs 60,000 for the base model of the iPhone 6s in the next couple of weeks, stimulating further action at the cash counters.