Russians can still buy new iPhone 16 despite sanctions and Apple’s stance - Reuters
Illustrative photo (getty images)
Russian retailers have launched pre-sales of the new iPhone from Apple, despite the company's ban on exports to Russia. The device will cost several hundred dollars more in Russia than in the US, according to Reuters.
Several Russian companies, including mobile operator MTS, announced on Thursday that they will be among the first in Russia to offer the new iPhone 16 from Apple. According to their statements, this will happen very soon.
However, Russian consumers will have to pay several hundred dollars more for the gadget than US consumers.
Reuters notes that foreign brands that have ceased exporting to Russia are now reaching Russian consumers, typically through countries that have not imposed sanctions against Russia, such as Türkiye, Kazakhstan, China, India, and the United Arab Emirates.
Reuters could not determine the route through which the new iPhones will enter the country.
Western goods and technologies remain popular in Russia. Efforts to mitigate this potential vulnerability through domestic production have proven unsuccessful.
The Kremlin has ordered officials to stop using iPhones, claiming that Western intelligence services have compromised them using surveillance software. Apple has denied these allegations.
Apple's export to Russia
Apple suspended all sales of its products in Russia in March 2022 and halted services like Apple Pay in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Western countries imposed sanctions to limit the export of technologies to Russia.
As previously reported by Reuters, there are at least dozens of firms using gray market methods to deliver Western goods to Russia. For example, one such company is owned by a Dutch citizen living in Russia, who supplies products from Nike, Lego, Reebok, and Emporio Armani.
