The iPhone 17 series, which was unveiled on Tuesday, is now available for pre-order through iStore, the Core Group-owned South African Apple retail chain, and will be shipped to consumers by 19 September, when they will also be available in-store.
The lower prices are the result of a strengthening rand. At the launch of the iPhone 16 range on 13 September 2024, the rand was trading at R17.74/US. The currency was stronger, at R17.37, to the dollar at market close on Thursday, representing a 2.1 increase in rand strength in the past year.
The iPhone 17 models have declined in price by a percentage in line with the rands improvement against the dollar over the period. One notable exception to this is the base iPhone 17 256GB model which, at R20 799, is 13 cheaper than the equivalent iPhone 16 model at launch.