Apple’s iPhone 16 series in South Africa has done something rare: prices have declined when compared to the launch prices for the previous-generation models.
The iPhone 16 range is now available for pre-order through iStore, the Core Group-owned retail chain, and will be shipped to consumers by 20 September, when they will also be available in stores.
The rand has strengthened against the dollar in the past year. On 13 September 2023, the rand was trading at R18.80/US$. At time of writing, $1 cost R17.76 – an improvement of 5.5%.
The iPhone 16 is the first in the series designed specifically with artificial intelligence in mind and will be the first newly released iPhones to feature Apple Intelligence. (The iPhone 15 Pro models will also get Apple Intelligence.)
The cheapest base model iPhone 16 with 128GB of storage costs R20 999, a 4.5% reduction from the iPhone 15’s price at launch. The 256GB and 512GB variants cost R23 999 and R28 999, respectively, and are cheaper by 4% and 5.8%.
The iPhone Plus saw similar drops in pricing between version 15 and 16, with the 128GB iPhone 16 variant going for R23Â 999, the 256GB for R26Â 499 and the 512GB at R31Â 799.
The lowest-specced iPhone 16 Pro, with 128GB of storage, retails for R26 499, down 4.3% from the launch price of the iPhone 15 Pro. The most expensive iPhone 16 Pro variant at R39 999 is 4.8% cheaper than its predecessor.
iPhone prices at launch (iPhone 13 and 14 Plus models not available):
| Capacity | iPhone 13 models | iPhone 14 models | % change in price (13-14) | iPhone 15 models | % change in price (14-15) | iPhone 16 models | % change in price (15-16) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone | |||||||
| 128GB | R17 299 | R20 599 | 19.1 | R21 999 | 6.8 | R20 999 | -4.5 |
| 256GB | R19 399 | R23 199 | 19.6 | R24 999 | 7.8 | R23 999 | -4.0 |
| 512GB | R23 699 | R28 499 | 20.3 | R30 799 | 8.1 | R28 999 | -5.8 |
| iPhone Plus | |||||||
| 128GB | - | - | - | R24 999 | - | R23 999 | -4.0 |
| 256GB | - | - | - | R27 699 | - | R26 499 | -4.3 |
| 512GB | - | - | - | R33 449 | - | R31 799 | -4.9 |
| iPhone Pro | |||||||
| 128GB | R21 499 | R25 699 | 19.5 | R27 699 | 7.8 | R26 499 | -4.3 |
| 256GB | R23 699 | R28 299 | 19.4 | R30 799 | 8.8 | R28 999 | -5.8 |
| 512GB | R28 699 | R33 599 | 17.1 | R36 499 | 8.6 | R34 499 | -5.5 |
| 1TB | R32 999 | R38 599 | 17.0 | R41 999 | 8.8 | R39 999 | -4.8 |
| iPhone Pro Max | |||||||
| 256GB | R25 899 | R30 999 | 19.7 | R33 499 | 8.1 | R31 799 | -5.1 |
| 512GB | R30 899 | R35 999 | 16.5 | R38 999 | 8.3 | R36 999 | -5.1 |
| 1TB | R35 299 | R41 499 | 17.6 | R44 999 | 8.4 | R42 499 | -5.6 |
The price reductions for the Pro Max model, the top of the iPhone range, are all slightly above 5% for all three variants. Both the 256GB and 512GB variants of the Pro Max have declined by 5.1%, with launch prices of R31 799 and R36 999, respectively. The 1TB Pro Max model has fallen in price by 5.6% to R42 499.
The new Apple Watch Series 10 will also go on sale in South Africa on 20 September, with prices starting at R9 899 for the Wi-Fi-only model and R12 399 for the model with integrated eSim for mobile access.   – © 2024 NewsCentral Media
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