Cheaper in Dubai’: Tourists are flying to UAE to buy new iPhone 17, still saving money

Pre-booking for the phones opened on September 12 at 4pm UAE time and were sold out within minutes

The new Apple iPhone Air is displayed during an Apple special event at Apple headquarters on September 9 in Cupertino, California. Photo: AFP.

Several tourists are planning to fly into the UAE to buy the new iterations of the iPhone. Some say the price will be cheaper even after buying an air ticket. 

Rahib Mohammed said according to his calculations, it would be cheaper for him to fly to Dubai and buy a device than buy it in his hometown in India. 

“In the UAE, an iPhone 17 pro with 2 TB storage will cost Dh8,499,” he said. “In India, the same device will cost Rs. 229900 (approximately Dh9,500) because there is added taxes. That is a difference of more than Dh1000. A return flight ticket from Kochi to Dubai will cost me about Dh700 on a low-cost airline. So, it is cheaper to fly to the UAE and get a device.”

The entrepreneur said he will be traveling to the UAE in October and will be picking up an iPhone 17 Pro during his visit. “I will be travelling to Dubai for work-related purposes,” he said. “Also, I am expecting stores in the UAE to have more stocks, so even though I will buy it after almost a month of its release, I am likely to get it earlier than if I order it in India.”

It was on September 9 that Apple launched the new iterations of iPhone— 17, 17 Pro and Air in what was described as the biggest change seen in an Apple device in eight years. The iPhone Air is the thinnest phone the company has ever made, combining a breakthrough design with a titanium frame with pro-level performance. 

Bookings 

Meanwhile, retailers are saying they have already received bookings from buyers abroad. “We already have three bookings for the device from customers abroad. We are expecting more people to come once the device launches,” said Mohammad Razik from Right Exit Phones Trading at Al Attar Shopping Mall. 

He added that he was expecting buyers from India, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and other regions to fly into the country to purchase the devices when they launch on September 19.

Pre-booking for the phones opened on Friday, September 12 at 4pm UAE time and were sold out within minutes. The iPhone Air will start at Dh4,299 in the UAE, while the iPhone 17 Pro will have prices beginning from Dh5,099 and the iPhone 17 will start from Dh4,699.

Ease of access

Experts said that there were several reasons why people chose to come to the UAE to buy the devices. “One thing is the ease of access,” said Mohammed Shareef, owner of Extel Mobiles. “Another is that the UAE market will have more devices to sell, making availability a little easier.”

He added that several Indians are choosing to buy from the UAE even though the devices will be sold in India as well. 

“There are some Apple stores in major cities in India but with the UAE just a short, four-hour plane ride away, many people just choose to come here for a short vacation and shop for their phones here,” he said. “Also, here it is easy access to the Apple stores in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.”

Experts had told Khaleej Times that some buyers were willing to pay up to double the price to get the Apple devices on the first day. The first batch of the phones will be delivered starting September 19.

Earlier, Ashish Panjabi, COO of Jackys BrandShop, had said that since the UAE is a phase 1 market, he was expecting those from countries with phase 2 launch to come to the country to buy the new devices. However, he added the company would do due diligence and would only sell to genuine customers and not traders.