Pakistani market sees renewed interest in iPhone 16 after costly iPhone 17 rollout – HUM News

ISLAMABAD: Prices of the iPhone 16 series in Pakistan have not dropped as much as many expected after the launch of the iPhone 17 lineup. With the latest models arriving at steep prices, many buyers are turning to the iPhone 16 series instead, finding the difference in features too small to justify spending much more.

In the local market, the PTA-approved iPhone 16 base model is selling between Rs310,000 and Rs315,000, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max remains priced around Rs450,000 to Rs465,000. Dealers say the demand for the iPhone 16 series has picked up again after the launch of the iPhone 17 series.

Abdul Jabbar, who has been trading Apple products in Pakistan for over a decade, said that the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s high price has revived interest in the previous generation. “The iPhone 16 Pro Max was available for around Rs430,000 a few weeks ago, but it’s now selling for about Rs20,000 more because iPhone 17 Pro Max stock is both costly and hard to find,” he said.

For many buyers, he added, the slight design changes in the iPhone 17 Pro Max are not enough to justify spending over Rs100,000 extra. A brand new, non-activated, PTA-approved iPhone 17 Pro Max (256GB) is currently priced around Rs570,000, compared to about Rs445,000 for the iPhone 16 Pro Max in some shops.

Prices also vary across retailers, as sellers set their own rates depending on availability and demand, taking advantage of the absence of an official Apple store in the country.

Distributors such as Mercantile have announced the following retail prices for the PTA-approved iPhone 17 series in Pakistan:

While the iPhone 17 series remains expensive, the pattern suggests that prices may gradually ease over the coming months, just as the iPhone 16 Pro Max did last year when it dropped by as much as Rs100,000 after its initial release.