iPhone sales in Russia fell 1.5 times

In January 2025, compared with the first month of 2024, iPhone sales in Russia decreased by 43%, almost 1.5 times. At the same time, online smartphone sales in Russia decreased by almost 9%, to 1.04 million units. This follows from a report by partner companies of several electronics manufacturers, which was reviewed by Izvestia.

Budget fruit: the new iPhone SE will appear in Russia at the end of February

Retailers plan to start selling the gadget at the same time to the entire world

Apple dropped out of the top 5 largest smartphone brands in the Russian market: in January 2024, it ranked second in terms of sales with a share of 14.3%, a year later it was only sixth (9%). Brands from China, as well as Samsung, were ahead.

During the year, iPhone sales in Russia decreased by about half both online and in regular stores. Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group, believes that the reasons for this were the limitations of functionality in the Russian Federation, rising prices for each new model, as well as the lack of promotion measures on the part of the manufacturer.

According to him, Apple's loyal audience is really large in Russia, but without support, any loyalty is not endless. According to the expert, circumstances lead to the fact that many people change old iPhones for functional and less expensive devices, for example, brands from China.

The dynamics can be explained by several factors, such as price, says Artur Makhlayuk, a business analyst at Fplus IT holding. He stressed that Apple devices are quite expensive and therefore designed only for a loyal audience. The expert added that at the same time, the update period has not yet come for the latest generation models, some consumers do not see the point in overpaying for a new device that does not have significant differences from its predecessors both in terms of functionality and design.

The main reason for the decline in demand for Apple products is its very high, almost prohibitive price, says Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

What kind of brand: iPhone sales in Russia fell 1.5 times