UAE residents’ love for iPhones goes a long, long way – and the desire to be among the first in the world to get their hands on the latest gadgets has always been there, notwithstanding the price.
There was a time when the cost of iPhones in the UAE was one of the priciest in the world. A 16GB iPhone 5 – when it was first released in September 2012 – was being sold for as much as Dh6,000 – the same amount that could now get you the latest iPhone 16 Pro Max with more than 30 times the capacity (512GB), not to mention the additional hardware for a powerful generative AI platform.
AI or Apple Intelligence was not yet in the mindset or vocabulary of iPhone lovers back then. The sixth iteration of Apple’s flagship handset had a four-inch Retina display screen, a new A6 chip and iOS 6.0, plus a slimmer, taller body.
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The iPhone 5 was announced on September 12, 2012 and released two days later only in US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, France and Germany. It was made available in 22 more countries 10 days after.
As reported by Khaleej Times, iPhone 5 was first physically unveiled to the media in Dubai on September 22, 2012. There was no Apple Store yet in the UAE — the first one would open three years later, on October 29, 2015.
A number of retailers and distributors sold iPhone 5 in the UAE at prices way above what one would be paying in countries where the product was officially released.
Apple’s only official channel that time was store.apple.com/ae. Then, UK-based Siasa Telecom announced iPhone 5 would be made available in late September.
Speaking to Khaleej Times back then, Siasa director Mohammed Sadiq said iPhone 5 prices in Dubai were indeed above selling points in other markets. He was initially hesitant to divulge prices because it would “create a negative impression that they were taking advantage” but Sadiq said that these were “due to other costs that they had to deal with, such as import duties, taxes and transportation costs.”
For wholesale, a 16GB iPhone 5 was sold for Dh4,500 apiece; and the 32GB version came at Dh4,700. Retail prices were definitely higher.
A UAE-based online shopping website sold iPhone 5 units anywhere from Dh3,845 to Dh5,500; while some major Dubai electronics retailers offered the 16GB version of iPhone 5 for Dh6,000.
Nevertheless, sales were robust, Khaleej Times quoted retailers back then, with some of them noting “prices were to come down in some weeks, and that would be the better time to buy an iPhone.”
“But still, we’re receiving a lot of queries because a lot of people want one immediately,” they added.
Fast forward to the present time, UAE now has four Apple Stores – two in Dubai and two more in Abu Dhabi. The UAE is also one of the first countries where new Apple devices are made available.
The UAE also enjoys the so-called “iPhone tourism” as iPhone lovers from other countries come here to be among the first buyers of the latest iPhone in the world.