New iPhone 17 unveiled in Moscow, as pre-orders jump despite slowing economy

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian resellers unveiled Apple's new iPhone 17 in stores on Saturday, as major retailer Restore: reported a sharp rise in pre-ordering this year.

Strong demand for Apple smartphones offers a sign that consumer demand for popular products has yet to falter in line with a wider economic slowdown in Russia. The country has seen 20-year-high interest rates and a budget deficit of over 4 trillion roubles this year.

The iPhones' popularity in Russia has endured Apple halting sales in 2022 and suspending services like Apple Pay in the wake of Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. In Russia, the phones also command higher prices than in Western markets.

"This year we have 66% more preorders than last year," said Lyudmila Semushina, PR director for Inventive Retail Group, which owns tech retailer Restore:.

"There is a huge fan base that will never exchange iPhone for anything else," Semushina said in the Restore: branch at Afimall City, located in the futuristic Moscow International Business Centre amidst some of Europe's tallest skyscrapers.

The U.S. tech giant rolled out the iPhone 17 range globally this week, introducing a new design, updated cameras, and the new Air model.

"It is worth thinking about switching from my current phone to the iPhone Air. This is a major update," said customer Oleg Kochetkov, adding that Russians are increasingly using iPhones for FaceTime after the government restricted WhatsApp and Telegram call services.

"There are a lot of new features that attract me. First of all, the cameras," tech blogger Sergei Yepikhin told Reuters.

Yepikhin said he was considering switching to an iPhone Pro from Android. Android devices are easier to use in Russia, he said, adding that he hopes local firms will develop solutions for smoother iPhone usage.

Russia’s Sber and T-Bank recently launched contactless payment services to bypass the Apple Pay ban.

The new Apple products displayed in Restore: on Saturday were for browsing only, with customers able to place pre-orders for delivery in the coming days.

"There is always a small shortage of new iPhones [in the beginning]," Restore:'s Semushina said.

She added that the retailer's supply chain is "quite stable," but that the additional logistics costs of so-called 'parallel imports' have impacted shelf prices.

The basic 256 GB iPhone 17 is listed at 119,990 roubles ($1,437.08) on Restore:'s online store, about 57% more than the U.S. retail price, and 29% more than Great Britain's.

Apple was the top smartphone brand by sales revenue in Russia in 2024 according to retailer M.Video Eldorado, though China's Xiaomi led unit sales.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

($1 = 83.4955 roubles)

(Reporting by Evgeniy Matveev and Dmitriy Turlyun, writing by Robert Harvey; Editing by David Gregorio)