After Apple has stopped official sales in Russia, many were surprised how the company managed to leave one of the largest European markets without much consequences. In any case, this did not affect the financial results, judging by the last reporting conference. But in fact, Cupertino was able to increase revenue by increasing sales of computers and accessories, while in iPhone sales lost, though not significantly, but noticeably. If a year ago share of Apple smartphones in Russia was in the region of 13%, then in this it decreased to 6%. Guess who she almost completely passed to? Of course, to the Chinese.
Although the retailers involved in parallel import of Apple technology, it was not possible to establish the previous volumes of imports, there was no shortage. This is due to the fact that consumers started noticeably less frequently buy iPhones and expensive smartphones in general. According to Kommersant, in the third quarter of 2022, the average price of a phone in Russia decreased by 15% to 19.3 thousand rubles. And despite the fact that the iPhone has only risen in price in our country due to parallel imports.
Most Popular Smartphones – Russia
The reasons for the total refusal of Russians from iPhones seem to be visible to the naked eye. In crises, people always start to consume less and save more, preferring to save something in reserve. Especially since new smartphone – far from being a necessity. And, if a new device still turned out to be necessary, well, just desperately, then you can always choose something simpler and cheaper. For example, Xiaomi or Realme, for which the former iPhone users and are transplanted.
Why choose them? Well, everything is logical here. Both Xiaomi and Realme release relatively inexpensive smartphones that support Google services, offer balanced performance, often superior to that of the iPhone, and at the same time are quite safe from the point of view of use. Security refers to the minimal risk of blocking such devices.
The same Samsung, which until recently was one of the leaders in the Russian smartphone market, suddenly turned out to be almost uninteresting to the locals. Firstly, because devices of this brand can be blocked due to activation in a country for which they are not intended. And, secondly, because on Korean devices in Russia samsung pay not workingfor which many people buy them. The “Chinese” do not have such problems, and this determines the choice of consumers.
Is it worth buying an iPhone in Russia
Moreover, they are most often buy in installments. Yes, iPhones are also sold by installments, but only in large retail chains like M.Video or Svyaznoy. But there are prices Apple smartphones often too high. And serovoz, which sell devices cheaper, most often not only do not give installments, but also ask to pay in cash. For most, this remains one of the key reasons not to buy smartphones in small stores, but to turn to eminent retailers.
Equally important is the public policy of Chinese companies that they pursue in Russia. Despite the danger of sanctions and rumors about their plans to relocate their employees to neighboring countries, neither Xiaomi nor Realme made a single hint of their possible withdrawal from the Russian market. They still sell their smartphones at the old prices, keeping them within reasonable limits, and also continue to provide users with warranty and post-warranty service. It’s captivating.
However, Apple has also done a lot to ensure that users begin to abandon it. The company’s tough stance towards Russia led to a number of serious restrictions that local iPhone owners had to face:
- Apple Pay no longer works in Russiaand users no longer have any opportunity to pay with a smartphone in a contactless way, except for using SBPey and its analogues;
- Banking apps, which have always been available in the App Store, can no longer be downloaded from scratch and even updated, which negatively affects their security and usability;
- Many developers have deliberately removed their apps from the App Store, leaving Russian iOS users no longer able to install them, unlike Android OS users.
Which smartphone is better to buy in 2022
Do not be deceived and think that those who used to bought smartphones for 70-100 thousand rubles, suddenly moved to cheap Poco and Redmi. In fact, this is far from the case. Experts note that the audience of top-end iPhones began to flow smoothly to Xiaomi, which has enough advanced devices, including those from the higher price segment. This is Xiaomi 12, and Xiaomi 12 Pro, and Xiaomi 12X, which are often more expensive than the last generation gray iPhones.
Of course, not all those who used iPhone before and now decided buy a new smartphone, gone to Xiaomi. Someone was forced to just sit out on their old machine for another year. Affected by the lack of significant changes in the lineup of Apple. Both the iPhone 13, which was released last year, and the iPhone 14, released this year, do not have radical differences from the iPhone 12 either externally or technically. The software changes that Apple made to somehow distinguish the models did not become a weighty argument for most people in favor of buying new products. Especially in Russia.
Despite the complexity of the situation, it is clear that Apple in Russia in general, and the iPhone in particular, is gradually being marginalized. Smartphones themselves are becoming less and less interesting technically, their prices are constantly rising, while their practicality in the Russian market is becoming even lower than ever before. Those times of the end of the zero years are returning, when iPhones were already taken to Russia, but it was impossible to use them normally. But if then, in the absence of adequate alternatives, inconvenience could be put up with, today, when a bunch of cool and inexpensive smartphones are on sale, fewer and fewer people will voluntarily doom themselves to inconvenience.
