iPhone 17 goes on sale in Moscow amid Apple ban; Moscow queues shorter than in the UK

Moscow — Apple’s iPhone 17s went on sale in the Russian capital Friday, despite the tech giant’s ongoing ban on selling devices in Russia in response to the Ukraine war. Apple suspended sales in Russia after the invasion began in 2022 and later removed apps tied to Russia’s state broadcasters from its App Store outside the country.

Russia has continued to rely on a government-backed parallel imports scheme that channels popular devices through third countries not subject to sanctions. The iPhone 17 and other models typically enter Russia via hubs in countries such as Turkey, Kazakhstan, China, India and the United Arab Emirates. As a result, Russian traders have continued to move high-demand devices into the market, even as Apple’s official stance remains unchanged. In the first half of 2023, imports linked to this scheme were reported to total about $1.1 million.

The Moscow rollout of the iPhone 17 comes as the device features an updated front camera, 256GB of storage and all-day battery life. In Russia, the country’s largest telecom operator, MTS, said demand for the new model is high, with prices set at about 1,000 pounds sterling for the standard version and roughly 1,465 pounds for the Pro variant in its shops.

Andrey Gubanov, chief executive of the MTS retail chain, told local media that the company planned to open a pre-order window immediately after Apple’s official presentation. He also cited historical performance: last year, the iPhone 16 accounted for about 54% of all pre-orders in Russia, followed by the iPhone 16 Pro at 28%, the 16 Pro Max at 11% and the 16 Plus at 7%, suggesting a similar pattern could emerge for the 17 line.

Meanwhile, in Britain, shoppers queued from as early as 5 a.m. outside Apple’s Regent Street flagship, highlighting the divergent scenes surrounding the launch. Prospective buyers in London waited for hours as Apple released the iPhone 17 alongside other new products, including the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3, SE 3 and the third-generation AirPods Pro.

Industry observers note that the Moscow sales activity reflects a broader reliance on parallel imports to sustain demand for premium devices amid sanctions, a practice that has persisted through multiple product cycles since 2022. While Apple has not resumed official sales in Russia, the presence of iPhone 17s in Moscow underscores ongoing demand and the resilience of trade channels that operate outside formal licensing frameworks. The development illustrates how geopolitical constraints intersect with consumer tech markets and the challenges of enforcing sanctions in a global, interconnected supply chain.