Dh1,500 Markups Hit Deira Shops as iPhone 18 Pro Dubai Price Hype Spikes
If you squeezed through the crowds at Dubai Mall over the weekend or talked to phone sellers in Deira, you felt the rush. Official online pre-orders for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max opened on Saturday afternoon at 4pm, but the gray market on the street is already moving much faster. In the traditional retail hubs around Deira, buyers eager to hold the device first are putting down heavy cash, some offering up to Dh1,500 above the official retail cost just to lock in a day-one delivery.
First-Day Handsets Command Heavy Cash Markups in Local Shops
Moideen Mustafa from Phoneline in Deira confirmed that early demand is driving steep premiums across local storefronts, though he expects that extra charge to cool down to around Dh1,000 by the third day of sales. Supply and demand dictate the daily price on the ground. The single most requested model on local order books right now is the 512GB iPhone 18 Pro Max, with buyers heavily favoring Apple’s new burgundy finish over black, silver, and glacier. Over at the Dubai Mall Apple Store, foot traffic surged on Friday evening as shoppers walked in expecting display units. Store staff had to inform visiting crowds that physical devices will only be placed on display tables after Friday.
Yet, the local market is telling two very different stories depending on who you ask. At Extel Mobiles, owner Mohammed Shareef reported a noticeably lukewarm reaction compared to prior product launches. His shop usually tallies around 2,000 pre-orders during an opening weekend, but initial volume this year remains significantly lower.
Shareef notes that regional uncertainty is making many resident buyers far more cautious with discretionary spending, leading them to hold off for hands-on reviews. Others are simply holding their cash for Apple’s upcoming foldable device, the iPhone Duo. UAE pre-orders for the iPhone Duo do not start until Friday, October 16, with store arrivals scheduled for Friday, October 23. For plenty of neighborhood tech fans, waiting a few extra weeks for a flexible design makes more sense than paying inflated day-one premiums for a standard layout.
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max officially go on sale across UAE stores on September 18.
