What kind of brand: iPhone sales in Russia fell 1.5 times

iPhone sales in Russia at the beginning of this year fell 1.5-2 times compared to the same period in 2024, electronics sellers and analysts told Izvestia. This is the first significant decrease since the termination of their official supplies to the Russian Federation and the beginning of parallel imports. Apple gadgets are becoming too expensive, and the number of functional limitations for Russians is too high, so buyers are increasingly choosing cheaper Chinese devices that have no problems with contactless payments and downloading applications, experts say. There may be many adherents of the Apple brand in Russia, but their loyalty is not unlimited, they point out.

How much has the demand for the iPhone decreased in Russia

In January 2025, compared to the first month of 2024, iPhone sales decreased by 43%, almost 1.5 times. At the same time, online smartphone sales in Russia decreased by almost 9%, to 1.04 million units. This follows from a report by a partner company of several electronics manufacturers, which was reviewed by Izvestia. Accordingly, Apple dropped out of the top 5 largest smartphone brands in the Russian market: in January 2024, it ranked second in terms of sales with a share of 14.3%, a year later it was only sixth (9%). Brands from China, as well as Samsung, were ahead.

The demand for the iPhone in the market as a whole (online and offline channels) fell by about the same amount: over the year, the vendor's share in the Russian Federation decreased by 5 percentage points, said Anton Seleznev, diHouse's leading product manager.

In January 2025, 57.8 thousand Apple smartphones were sold in the online segment, compared with 127.1 thousand units a year earlier. That is, the decrease was more than 50%, in turn, estimated by Artur Makhlayuk, a business analyst at the Fplus IT holding. According to him, in January of this year, 168.1 thousand iPhones were sold in the market as a whole, which is 33% less than the same period last year (252.1 thousand devices). Year by year, the brand's share in unit sales decreased from 10% to 7%.

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We are talking about the first serious drop in iPhone sales after the resumption of their parallel import to Russia in mid-2022, said Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily. At that time, their market share was 6-7%. By the beginning of 2023, it had grown to 12%, and by 2024 to 14%, but at the end of last year, against the background of rising foreign exchange rates and the Central Bank rate, a sharp decline began, the expert added.

— We are seeing a 25% decrease in demand for iPhones in the online channel. General trends in the mobile electronics market also indicate a decrease in consumer activity in this segment," the commercial director of Refrigerator told Izvestia.<url>" Alexey Pogudalov.

Pavel Komarov, head of the Electronics and Home Appliances business at Avito, also talks about the general decline in sales of Apple smartphones in January 2025 compared to the same period last year.

The decrease in demand for the iPhone can be attributed to the general decline in the mobile electronics market in Russia caused by the current economic situation and changing consumer preferences, Alexey Pogudalov noted. He also talks about the lack of official activity of Apple in the Russian market.

"Sales are carried out as part of parallel imports, which implies the lack of direct support from the manufacturer and may be perceived by consumers as a risk factor," he points out.

The main reason for the sales decline is the company's withdrawal from the Russian market and the discontinuation of a systematic approach to work and sales support, Anton Seleznev agrees.

— Many services do not work, the installation of banking (and not only) applications is not always possible, and the like. As a result, users started switching to Android smartphones and choosing other brands offering the full range of customer support," he notes.

There is a redistribution of consumer demand in the market: buyers looking for alternatives to the iPhone often pay attention to flagship models of brands such as Samsung and Huawei, says Alexey Pogudalov.

However, sales of not all iPhone models and not all retailers are falling. In January, online iPhone sales at MTS increased by 35% in units and in money compared to the same month last year, according to the company.

Sales growth in January of this year was recorded only for individual iPhone models: iPhone 15 Plus — by 66%, iPhone 15 — by 34%, iPhone 13 — by 28%, Pavel Komarov listed. In general, the decline in iPhone sales in January 2025 may be due to the growing popularity of Chinese brands that offer a wide range of models with competitive characteristics at a more affordable price. By the end of 2024, sales of Infinix smartphones increased by more than 2.5 times, and those by more than two times, he added.

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—There is indeed a drop in iPhone sales, and we agree with the 43% estimate of the decline dynamics in early 2025 versus early 2024," Svyaz.ON told Izvestia. — We attribute this not to the replacement of the iPhone with other smartphones, but to a general decline in sales of smartphones of different brands in the high segment due to a slower decrease in the cost of the iPhone and Android flagships a few months after the release.

Such dynamics in 2025 are caused by the volatility of exchange rates and the fact that brands and distributors have long expected the ruble to weaken rather than strengthen, according to Svyaz.ON.

iPhone sales in Russia have roughly halved over the year, both online and in brick-and-mortar stores, according to Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group. He also cites the reasons for the limitations of its functionality in the Russian Federation, the increase in prices for each new model, as well as the lack of measures to promote it from the manufacturer. Apple's loyal audience is really large in Russia, but without support, any loyalty is not infinite, the expert states. In his opinion, the above circumstances lead to the fact that many people are replacing old iPhones with functional and less expensive devices, for example, brands from China.

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As follows from the report of a partner of several electronics manufacturers, in January 2025, compared to the same period last year, online sales of Chinese Realme and Honor devices increased by more than 100%, Poco - by 37%, Vivo — by 31%.

The dynamics can be explained by several factors, such as price, says Artur Makhlayuk. Apple devices are quite expensive and therefore designed only for a loyal audience. At the same time, the latest generation models have not yet been updated, and some consumers do not see the point in overpaying for a new device that does not have significant differences from its predecessors both in terms of functionality and design, he argues.

The main reason for the decline in demand for Apple products is its very high, one might say, prohibitive price, Denis Kuskov believes. According to his forecast, demand may increase with the introduction of a new budget version of the iPhone SE on the market.