iPhone 16 unveiled in Russia as retailers skirt Apple's export ban

Russian retailers defy Apple's export ban, offering pre-sales of iPhone 16 at higher prices than in the U.S.

Russian retailers have launched pre-sales of Apple's latest iPhone, circumventing the company's export ban to Russia and giving consumers the chance to pre-order devices hundreds of dollars more expensive than in the United States.

Russia's leading electronics retailer M.Video-Eldorado and mobile network operator MTS both claimed on Thursday to be the first in Russia to unveil Apple's new iPhone 16.

M.Video said phone deliveries would begin from next week. MTS said it expected physical sales to begin very soon.

Apple paused all its product sales in Russia in March 2022 and halted services like ApplePay in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine while Western-imposed sanctions sought to curb technology exports to Russia.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside U.S. business hours.

Russians will have to fork out several hundred dollars more than U.S. consumers for the iPhone 16.

Foreign brands that halted exports to Russia now take circuitous routes to reach consumers, typically through countries that have not imposed sanctions on Russia, such as Turkey, Kazakhstan, China, India and the United Arab Emirates.