Apple‘s highly coveted iPhone 17s have gone on sale in Moscow – despite the major US tech company banning sales in Russia following the Ukraine war.
Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Apple suspended sales of its products in Russia. They also removed apps for Russia’s state-owned media outlets like RT News and Sputnik news from its app store outside the country.
But a Russian government ‘parallel imports’ scheme allows various products like Apple’s smartphones to be imported through third countries without the copyright holder’s permission.
The iPhones typically move through countries that have not imposed sanctions on Russia, such as Turkey, Kazakhstan, China, India and the United Arab Emirates.
As a result, 1.1million US dollars were imported to Russia in the first half of 2023, it has been reported.
For years Russia has been using the dodgy loophole and flogging the phones in its stores as demand soars with each release.
In 2023 Apple’s new iPhone 15 was sold in Moscow 24 hours before the start of global sales, say local reports.
The Russian government’s purchases of iPhone 16s for 2024 were four times higher than the same period in 2023.
Apple’s highly coveted iPhone 17s have gone on sale in Moscow – despite the major US tech company banning sales in Russia following the Ukraine war
The new device promises an updated front camera, 256GB of storage and all-day battery life
Russia’s biggest telecommunications provider MTS said the demand for the latest iPhone 17 is twice as high as its predecessor.
MTS is offering the iPhone 17 standard version for an equivalent of around £977 in its shops, and the higher tier iPhone 17 Pro for £1,465.
Before the release of the model worldwide, Andrey Gubanov, CEO of the MTS retail chain, said: ‘Immediately after the official Apple presentation, we will open a pre-order.
‘Last year, according to its results, the iPhone 16 model turned out to be the most popular smartphone in the line — it accounted for 54% of all pre-orders. Next are the iPhone 16 Pro (28%), iPhone 16 Pro Max (11%) and iPhone 16 Plus (7%). We expect similar figures this year.’
Meanwhile Britons yesterday raced to buy the new model as they waited in arduous queues outside the company’s flagship London store on Regent Street from as early as 5am.
The new device promises an updated front camera, 256GB of storage and all-day battery life.
The latest phone is priced from £799 and comes in a range of colours including lavender and sage.
A Tesla Cybertruck was spotted in central St. Petersburg earlier this week, proving that the Russian rich seem unaffected by sanctions in the country
Meanwhile Britons yesterday raced to buy the new model as they waited in arduous queues outside the company’s flagship London store on Regent Street from as early as 5am (pictured)
It is part of a line-up of new products that went on sale on Friday including the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max – along with Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and the third-generation AirPods Pro.
Among those in the queue was Michael Issott, 24, from Bournemouth, who said: ‘I get the new iPhone every year, so it’s became a bit of a habit.’
‘Tomorrow it’s my birthday so I tell myself it’s a treat, it’s a birthday present,’ he said.
Taras, 21, from Russia, said he began queueing at 5am and is buying the new device for re-sale.
‘It’s the only one reason why you should buy on the first day. It’s only for re-sale,’ he said.