Apple has re-opened its online store in Russia after temporarily closing it last week following “extreme” fluctuations in the valuation of the country’s currency, the ruble.
But while that’s good news for people wanting to order Apple goods over the holidays, it’s not likely to go over well with the majority of customers — since prices have dramatically increased.
The cost of an iPhone 6, for instance, has risen 35 percent: with a 16GB iPhone 6 selling for 34,990 rubles before the shutdown, and 53,990 rubles now. That means a base level iPhone costs $980 in Russia.
The iMac with Retina Display, meanwhile, costs close to 200,000 rubles.
Russia’s currency has been highly volatile for several months. At one point, the currency lost 19 percent of its value in one day alone, being valued at less than 80 per dollar.
That crash has now slowed, as the result of the Bank of Russia raising its benchmark interest rate by the most in 16 years, which has helped strengthen the ruble — although at a significant cost to the country’s economy.
This isn’t the first notable interaction Apple has had with Russia in 2014. Back in November, AAPL shares closed at new all-time high, making the company worth more than the entire Russian stock market.
In the aftermath of Tim Cook coming out as gay, the Russian politician behind the country’s retrograde anti-gay laws also claimed Apple’s CEO should be banned from the country. Following this, a Russian statue erected in honor of Steve Jobs was taken down and sold off.
Via: Appadvice
