Mobile shop owners in Pakistan mislead customers over iPhone 16 availability

RAWALPINDI: A number of mobile shop owners in Pakistan are misleading customers by claiming to have the recently launched iPhone 16 series in stock, when in reality, they do not.

Following an investigation on Thursday, it was revealed that many mobile sellers indicated that interested buyers would have to wait at least a week to receive a PTA-approved iPhone 16.

Shopkeepers in Singapore Plaza Rawalpindi have reportedly been demanding an advance of Rs150,000-Rs250,000 from those wishing to purchase the PTA-approved iPhone 16 Pro series, despite advertising its availability on their social media accounts and WhatsApp statuses.

One shop owner in Islamabad’s G7 mobile market explained that retailers are charging customers an additional fee, similar to the “on money” paid for cars, for the iPhone 16 variants.

This “on money” is being collected as shopkeepers claim that the supply from distributors is currently insufficient. Consequently, those interested in acquiring the iPhone 16 Pro Max immediately are being asked to pay this extra charge.

It remains unclear whether the few companies in Pakistan claiming to be distributors of Apple products are failing to send enough PTA-approved iPhone 16 stock, or if this is simply a tactic by shopkeepers to make substantial profits from customers looking to buy one of the most expensive smartphones “unofficially” available in Pakistan.

It is important to note that Apple does not sell iPhones directly in Pakistan, nor is there an official Apple store in the country, which contributes to this overcharging issue.

The high price of iPhone 16 in Pakistan is attributed to the absence of local manufacturing and the lack of an official store.

Additionally, consumers are required to pay hefty PTA taxes—up to Rs200,000—to own the iPhone 16 Pro Max. This PTA tax has often drawn criticism on social media for being unfair and significantly increasing the price of imported phones.

To illustrate the iPhone 16 price in Pakistan, the iPhone 16 Pro Max (256 GB) is listed on the official Apple website for $1,199, which is approximately Rs332,900 (in PKR/Pakistani currency).

However, Pakistanis are required to pay around Rs207,000 extra to buy the same PTA-approved iPhone, as a prominent distributor has set the price for a PTA-approved iPhone 16 Pro Max (256 GB) at Rs540,500. It is worth noting that non-PTA-approved smartphones cannot use SIM services after two months of purchase unless PTA charges are paid.

Despite being non-PTA approved and unable to use network services after two months, non-PTA iPhone 16 Pro Max models are still not cheap. Currently, these models are being sold in the local market for as high as Rs440,000.

The lowest price reported was at Singapore Plaza in Rawalpindi, where the non-PTA 256 GB iPhone 16 Pro Max was quoted at Rs420,000. This means Pakistanis are paying nearly Rs100,000 extra for an iPhone 16 Pro Max that will not be able to use any network’s SIM card after two months, as compared to its official price.