Russian electronics retailers have started collecting preorders for Apple's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, weeks before the smartphones have even been officially unveiled, according to the technology outlet Appleinsider.
Small shops and private sellers have posted prices on their websites for bringing the new iPhones into Russia, Appleinsider reported. The outlet's journalists noted that the smartphone has not been officially shown and that the sellers themselves have never seen it, yet product listings for every storage version are already online.
Preorder prices in Russia
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max on September 9. As of publication, the 256-gigabyte version of the iPhone 18 Pro was listed from 120,000 rubles. The 512-gigabyte model was priced at 140,000 rubles, the 1-terabyte version at 180,000 rubles, and the 2-terabyte version at 210,000 rubles.
Appleinsider's specialists suggested that once Apple holds its presentation and announces official pricing, these listed prices are likely to be revised.
Major retailers join in
Alongside smaller shops, some larger market players have also rushed to announce preorders. Journalists from the Hi-Tech Mail.ru portal noted that the restore retail chain has published the prices at which it plans to sell the devices in Russia. The base version of the Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max was priced at 200,000 rubles.
Memory shortage driving up costs
Apple is a US technology company known for its iPhone smartphones, Mac computers and other consumer electronics, and it typically unveils new iPhone models each September.
Earlier this autumn, analysts at the research firm TrendForce said Apple would be forced to raise smartphone prices because it cannot overcome an ongoing memory chip shortage. TrendForce forecast that prices for the new devices would rise by 10 to 20 percent compared with the previous generation's models.
