Although Apple's new iPhone 6 won't hit Russian shelves until a week after its U.S. launch — on Sept. 26 — and will be around $200 dollars more expensive when it does, that is a breathtaking record for a country used to huge delays and massive mark-ups on Apples' high end gear, according to one of Russia's largest smartphone retailers.
Sergei Tikhonov, spokesperson for mobile retailer Svyaznoi, said the one-week gap is a record for Russia: "3 to 4 years ago ... the official start of Apple sales in our country took place about 4-5 months after the world premier [of a new iPhone]. Now ... it is a little more than two weeks." Apple this week unveiled its upgrade to the massively successful iPhone family with larger screens to compete with Android-based competitors that have lured customers away from small-screened Apple by selling roomier phones. For the first time in iPhone's history, it will be sold in two sizes — 4.7" and 5.5". The standard iPhone screen size has previously been 4".
When they do arrive, Russians will bow to tradition and pay more than their U.S. peers, despite on average earning 57 percent less, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The standard iPhone 6 will cost anywhere from 32,000 rubles ($860) to 42,000 rubles ($1,130), as compared to the $650 to $850 price range in the U.S. The average monthly salary in Moscow is about 57,000 rubes ($1,800) rubles per month. Nationwide, it is about half that.
INC News, 11/09/2014
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