Customers storm stores as iPhone 14 hits shelves in Türkiye

ISTANBUL

Apple’s iPhone 14 has hit the stores in Türkiye at prices up to 57,200 Turkish Liras ($ 3,100), while early buyers have formed long queues in front of the stores.

Many people made a reservation days before to buy iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, which have started to be sold in Türkiye for between 31,000 ($1,680) and 57,200 liras.

Those who waited through the night to the opening of the stores to be an early buyer formed long queues in front of Apple stores.

Muammer Aydın, one of the citizens in the line, said he came there at 9:45 a.m. and he was able to buy it after waiting three hours.

“I bought one after the launch in the evening, but they did not allow me to buy the second. Today, I came again to buy a one for my wife,” he added.

Apple is expected to break its average iPhone price record twice in the coming months as customers choose to buy costlier “Pro” models that boost the tech giant’s margins.

The current record is $873, achieved in the fourth quarter of last year.

Driving the trend is the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models, which feature a faster chip, a 48-megapixel camera.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says his supply chain survey suggests that the company expects very few iPhone 14 Plus sales in pre-orders and early orders.

Indeed, he suggests that fewer than 5 percent of initial Apple orders are for the Plus, while around 85 percent are split between the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Apple limited online purchases of its new iPhone 14 Pro models to two per customer, in an apparent attempt to cope with the overwhelming demand for the high-end flagship devices.

iPhone 14 Pro sales could see its peak season share become the norm if they maintain their current momentum.