PRESS: Russian sellers see higher demand for new iPhone than in 2015

MOSCOW, Sep 20 (PRIME) -- The number of pre-orders for Apple’s new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, opened on September 16, while sales are due on Friday, has exceeded the demand for the previous model, iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, by several times, business daily Vedomosti reported Tuesday, referring to several market sources.

Employees of retailers said pre-orders for the new device were two to four times higher the demand for the previous model. Buyers could be enticed with new features of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, including an advanced camera and new colors.

A spokesman for mobile operator VimpelCom, which runs a retail chain as well, explained the popularity of the new device from Apple by new colors and bigger memory. Models in black and jet black finishing with 256 gigabytes are the most popular among buyers.

Dmitry Solodovnikov, a spokesperson for mobile operator MTS said the company’s retail chain received seven times more pre-orders for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus on September 16–18 than the number of pre-orders for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, but three times less than the number of pre-orders in 2014 for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the first bigger-screen smartphones from Apple.

The price tag of the iPhone 7 is at 56,990–74,990 rubles, depending on the memory volume, and the iPhone 7 Plus costs 67,990–85,990 rubles.

Denis Kuskov, general director of agency Telecom Daily, said Russian buyers are interested in the new device, because it is time to replace the iPhones purchased amid a rush in late 2015 or earlier, when the ruble rate tumbled on cheap oil.

Unlike 2015, the ruble rate and prices of smartphones are more or less stable, and Apple’s new device is a good reason to upgrade a handset, Kuskov said.

(64.9173 rubles – U.S. $1)

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