Ahead of the Russian presidential election, the domestic company Caviar has unveiled a new custom version of the iPhone 15 — the President model. The smartphone, costing from 559 thousand rubles, is part of the "Russia" collection.
The "Presidential" smartphone features a coat of arms finished in 24-carat gold. The panel has an insert made of red Italian-made calfskin. The national flag is made of colored jewelry enamel.
Beautiful, Expensive, But Not for Russian Officials
In the summer of 2023, the FSB of Russia discovered a vulnerability in Apple technology that allows American intelligence agencies to monitor iPhone users. Against this background, the leadership of a number of ministries and departments demanded that their employees not use iPhones for official purposes. Such recommendations were also disseminated in the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Digital Development.
Caviar themselves see the future owners of this smartphone as "leaders who love their country." According to marketers, "these can be both presidents of large companies, as well as politicians, athletes and outstanding personalities."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as well as representatives of the Kremlin, refused to use iPhones. But there are still people in the president's entourage who still use the American smartphone. Among them is the press secretary of the head of state, Dmitry Peskov, who considers the iPhone "a wonderful invention".
Decline in iPhone Sales in Russia
Due to the introduction of Western sanctions against Russia, as well as the removal of many useful applications from the AppStore, the interest of citizens in the iPhone has significantly decreased. This affected sales. Thus, from January to November 2022, 2.2 million iPhones were sold in the country, which is 48% lower than in the same period in 2021.
Sales of the iPhone 15 have dropped significantly compared to the iPhone 14. Experts believe that this was influenced by uncertainty with the warranty on the smartphone and the high price.
In early January 2024, the cost of the iPhone 15 on marketplaces fell by 33%. However, this did not affect demand.
