How to buy an iPhone 7 in the UAE?

There are no taxes in the UAE, so buying equipment there is profitable, and, given the huge number of shopping centers, it’s also convenient. So, without any doubts, I decided to buy my first iPhone in Dubai.

iPhone prices in Dubai

The difference in the price of Apple equipment with Ukraine is very significant. So, my iPhone 7 Plus with a maximum memory of 256 gigabytes cost 28,500 UAH, while on the day of purchase its price in all Ukrainian stores averaged 36,000 thousand UAH.

What does “iPhone without Facetime” mean?

When buying an iPhone in the Emirates, you will see the note “with/without Facetime” next to each gadget. What does this mean? The fact is that the use of applications for audio and video calls is prohibited in the UAE (you can’t just pick up and call via Whatsapp), so all iPhones that are supplied to authorized resellers come without the Facetime application. And finding an international version with Facetime on the shelves is not so easy (I would like to note that local iPhones without Facetime are 30-50 dollars cheaper, but I don’t really want to bother with jailbreaking)

Buy iPhone in Dubai online

I ordered my gadget on the website crazydeals.com (you can also see prices for all models there). I indicated the delivery date to them, and a couple of days before it, through the support service, I specified the place and time. As a result, the courier brought my phone directly to the hotel.

I chose this store because it was willing to deliver to a customer without a local phone number. Other sites where I found a cheaper price always required a local number for communication.

When ordering, you can choose a payment method, including a bank card upon receipt. If you decide to pay in cash, you can even pay in dollars and, by the way, at a good rate.

We kept in touch with the courier via WhatsApp and he spoke good English. My friend, who also decided to order a phone for himself, had the gadget delivered the next day, despite the fact that their standard delivery time is 3-5 days.

Shopping at the mall

Another way to buy an iPhone in the UAE is through regular stores and malls. There is an Apple brand store in Dubai, it is located in the Mall of Emirates, but today they do not have “pluses” for sale, and they will appear only in a month. At the same time, the price of gadgets in the Apple Store is the lowest and coincides with the price of the site.

At the same time, the phone is easy to buy in other places. For example, in the Dubai Mall, which is located next to the Burj Khalifa, there is an authorized Apple reseller - the iStyle store. The prices there are actually the same as on the Apple website, although all the gadgets are local, that is, without Facetime.