South Africa’s wobbling rand has had an unintended negative impact on the cost of mobile phones in the country with the iPhone rising almost beyond the reach of many people.

This became apparent with the launch of the new iPhone 15 with a price hike that many saw as a  part of subtle revenue-boosting strategy at Apple with South African Apple users receiving a nasty shock last year when the price of the iPhone 14 was revealed – up to a 20.3% jump over the iPhone 13 models, largely due to a weak rand exchange rate.

The ailing currency is once again back to inflict punishment on their wallets in 2023. The new iPhone 15 series will once again see an above-inflation price bump. Here’s how much you’ll pay for the iPhone 15, according to pre-order pricing released by Core Group-owned retail chain, the iStore, on Friday…

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iPhone 15 vs iPhone 14

128GB: R21 999 (R20 599, so a 6.8% increase)

256GB: R24 999 (R23 199, 7.8% increase)

512GB: R30 799 (R28 499, 8.1% increase)

iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro

128GB: R27 699 (R25 699, 7.8% increase)

256GB: R30 799 (R28 299, 8.8% increase)

512GB: R36 499 (R33 599, 8.6% increase)

1TB: R41 999 (R38 599, 8.8% increase)

iPhone 15 Pro Max vs iPhone 14 Pro Max

256GB: R33 499 (R30 999, 8.1% increase)

512GB: R38 999 (R35 999, 8.3% increase)

1TB: R44 999 (R41 499, 8.4% increase)

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The rand has weakened in the past 12 months. When the iStore announced its iPhone 14 series launch pricing a year ago, the rand was trading at R17.59/US$. On Friday morning, it was at R18.88 to the greenback. That’s a weakening over the past year of 7.3%, roughly matching the increase in prices of the iPhone 15.

For those upgrading from the iPhone 13 series (as many people will be), the price increases are much more eye-watering:

iPhone 15 vs iPhone 13

128GB: R21 999 (R17 299, so a 27.2% increase)

256GB: R24 999 (R19 399, 29.9% increase)

512GB: R30 799 (R23 699, 30% increase)

iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 13 Pro

128GB: R27 699 (R21 499, 28.8% increase)

256GB: R30 799 (R23 699, 30% increase)

512GB: R36 499 (R28 699, 27.2% increase)

1TB: R41 999 (R32 999, 27.3% increase)

iPhone 15 Pro Max vs iPhone 13 Pro Max

256GB: R33 499 (R25 899, 29.3% increase)

512GB: R38 999 (R30 899, 26.2% increase)

1TB: R44 999 (R35 299, 27.5% increase)

TechCentral wasn’t able to find the launch price of the iPhone 14 Plus model in South Africa, and so the publication hasn’t compared its price changes. However, the device is priced as follows: 128GB – R24 999; 256GB – R27 699; and 512GB – R33 499.

Pre-orders of the new iPhone 15 devices launched in South Africa on Friday, with the phones expected to reach consumers’ hands from next week.

To tempt users to upgrade – and perhaps help them forget about the sharp increase in prices – iStore said it is offering various support options, including up to R20 000 cashback in trade-in value on selected models.

South Africa wasn’t the only market where iPhones went on sale or pre-order on Friday. The devices are going on sale in about 40 countries in its first wave, including in Australia, Hong Kong, mainland China, the US, the UK and France. The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models will represent Apple’s biggest sellers throughout the rest of the year — and the ability to both create and fulfil demand for the products will make or break its holiday period.

The iPhone 15 keynote in a nutshellSo far, the new devices have fared well for Apple, based on the initial online sales of the product. New online orders for the highest-end iPhone 15 models won’t arrive for customers until at least mid-November in several countries, while reservations for in-store pick-ups quickly sold out.

Initial buyers of the latest iPhone typically order it online, making it harder to gauge demand based on the length of lines. Aside from the first two iPhone launches in 2007 and 2008 — as well as the iPhone 5s debut in 2013 — Apple has offered pre-orders for the iPhone with delivery on launch day.

Still, long lines for the iPhone 15 formed in Dubai, Australia and China, indicating that those who could not secure day one orders online are still willing to brave long nights and early hours to be one of the first to own a new iPhone — and even a new Apple Watch.

China is of particular interest because the government is expanding a ban on iPhone use in certain agencies and state-owned enterprises and rival Huawei Technologies just introduced its highly touted Mate60 Pro. Still, customers flocked to Apple stores in cities like Beijing as sales began. The China market accounts for about a fifth of Apple’s revenue.

Paying a premium

Among the crowd at an Apple store in Sydney was Colin Seton, who has been buying Apple products since the mid-1980s. Seton was waiting in line to purchase the new Series 9 Apple Watch.

“I own most of what Apple sells,” he said, gesturing toward his satchel, containing his AirPods, iPhone, MacBook Air and iPad. “It’s a walled garden, but I don’t mind paying a premium for a product if it’s good.”

Felix Hoffman was waiting in line for a new phone after giving up his old one when he left his job in real estate. Being between jobs didn’t stop him from splurging A$1 849 (R22 500) on the new iPhone 15 Pro. “I just don’t like buying old tech,” he said.

While the iPhone 15 Pro has seen strong early demand, the company’s other new products have received a more muted response online. The regular iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models, in addition to the new AirPods with a USB-C case, Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 are still seeing strong availability, aside from certain Apple Watch band configurations.

The iPhone represents about half of Apple’s overall revenue and the company is banking on the device to help it break a streak of sales declines and return to growth during the critical holiday period, which is its first quarter of fiscal 2024.

Everything Apple will announce at its iPhone 15 keynoteWith iPhone sales beginning Friday, the company will see about a week of revenue from the latest models within its fiscal fourth quarter sales, which it typically reports in late October.

Wall Street is currently expecting Apple to report revenue of about $89.3-billion for the current period, with $43.6-billion of that coming from the iPhone. That would be a decline from last year’s revenue of $90.1-billion, with $42.6-billion coming from the iPhone, during the fourth quarter and would mark its fourth quarterly decline in a row.

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But Apple has more reason for optimism over the holiday quarter, which runs from October to December. Sales of iPhones that feature new designs typically spur more upgraders than in years with more minor tweaks. The iPhone 15 Pro’s design marks a significant change with a shift to a titanium design that Apple is focusing on in its marketing.

Apple also likely won’t have to contend with any major supply-chain snags that hurt the early sales window for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max last year. Foxconn, the manufacturer of Apple’s highest-end iPhones, was forced to shut its facilities in China for several weeks last year due to the country’s former Covid Zero policies.

In addition, the company has upped the starting price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max this year by $100 after eliminating a smaller storage tier offered in past years. Combined with exclusive features like improved zoom in the camera, this year’s Pro Max model has the opportunity to be a larger-than-usual revenue driver for Apple.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry