iPhones Pile Up in Russia as Prices Fall and Demand Fades

Source Domain: united24media.com

Russia is facing a growing surplus of unsold Apple and Samsung smartphones, as weakening consumer demand forces retailers to cut prices and rethink their sales strategies, market participants told Russian media outlet Izvestia on April 21.

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Large electronics chains significantly increased their inventory purchases toward the end of 2025, anticipating stronger demand. Instead, they are now struggling to move stock, particularly at higher price points.

“By late 2025, major retailers had stocked up so heavily on devices that they now can’t sell them—at least not at premium prices,” said Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group.

The spokesman for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Dmitriy Peskov, using an iPhone 17 Pro. (Photo: open source)

As a result, prices have started to decline across the market. According to Russian retailer M.Video, the iPhone 17 has dropped by 25 to 30 percent since the beginning of the year, while older models have seen reductions of 15 to 20 percent.

Samsung devices have also been discounted, with the base Galaxy S26 model down by around 5 percent, the S26+ series falling by 5 to 10 percent, and the S26 Ultra models declining by up to 15 percent.

Other industry estimates suggest average price reductions for Apple and Samsung devices are currently in the range of 8 to 10 percent. Analysts say retailers misjudged consumer demand and are now offering discounts to offload excess inventory.

Apple products normalising genocide – it’s call being a sponsor of war – using opaque and documented parallel supply chains – but make no mistake, they are all thick as thieves.

The prices of the iPhone 17 have plummeted to 61,000 rubles. At the beginning of the year, the… pic.twitter.com/kE9hGVIe5F

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Demand has also…

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