Apple to let you customise MacBooks, iMacs etc in India: What this means for customers

Earlier Apple would just let Indian customers pick from a handful of MacBook, iMac variants only

This option to customise has been a long-requested feature in the Indian market, especially since Apple offers this in several other regions like the US, Canada. (REUTERS)

Apple is going to let its customers in India customise the iMac, the MacBook, Mac Mini etc as per their needs. The tech giant has started offering their full Mac portfolio with a configure-to-order (CTO) or build-to-order (BTO) option in India. What this means is - as a potential customer if yout want additional memory, more powerful graphics or more storage, you can request for it.

This option to customise has been a long-requested feature in the Indian market, especially since Apple offers this in several other regions like the US, Canada. Earlier, Apple was letting customers in India pick between select variants of its Mac computers available here with no option to customise or ask for upgrades.

The options for customisation are listed on the Apple India website and customers can get in touch with Apple's authorised resellers to discuss upgrade options, pricing etc and then place their orders.

Apple says that it can deliver customised computers in four to five weeks from the time the order is received.

“This is a very huge deal. Previously, there was no real way to get a built-to-order or configure-to-order Mac in India. So you were stuck with the base models — say a Mac Mini or 13″ MacBook Pro with 8GB of RAM. Now that the company is officially offering this, you get the computer you want and the standard warranty on it,” said Preshit Deorukhkar, a Mumbai-based executive who closely tracks Apple development, told TechCrunch.

“The component upgrade pricing is still whack, though, like charging $400 to go from 16GB to 32GB for the RAM, but at least the option is available now,” Deorukhkar added.

According to reports, this customisation option has started rolling out across the country but not all Apple authorised distributors have it yet. The option should be more widely available from June. Till then, you might have to check online to find stores offering this benefit right now.

Also, these customisable options will not be available on e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart etc. And if you intend to get your new Mac configured, please remember that it is not going to be cheap.