iPhone 15 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 launches in South Africa – pricing

After unveiling the new iPhone last week, iStore South Africa has announced the iPhone 15 and Apple Watch Series 9 are available for pre-order from today (22 September), with the iPhone prices ranging from R21,999 to R44,999 and the Apple Watch raging from R10,499 to R20,999

The iPhone 15 was unveiled on Tuesday (12 September) at its Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California. The new product — especially the higher-end versions — represents one of the company’s biggest upgrades in years. And Apple is counting on the new features to help reverse a rare sales slump.

The new materials and charging port stand out as the most distinct changes from last year’s models.

The A17 chip, Apple’s fastest in-house smartphone processor, will make it a more powerful gaming device. It supports a technology called ray tracing – a buzzy topic at the Apple event – that enables smoother graphics and improved colour accuracy.

The sizes of the Pro and Pro Max remain unchanged from the previous generation, at 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches. One twist: The colours on the higher-end phones are actually more muted than on the cheaper iPhones, giving the titanium more of a chance to shine.

The entry-level models – the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus – feature pastel versions of pink, blue, green and yellow, in addition to black. Seeing all the models side by side, the regular iPhone colours definitely provide more of a pop.

But much of the attention Tuesday focused on a more mundane change. When grabbing the new phone, attendees immediately flipped the device upside-down to examine the new USB-C port.

Available for pre-order from iStore

iStore has announced that it will offer the iPhone 15 range for pre-orders online from today for cash and Vodacom, MTN and Telkom cellular contract upgrades.

At iStore, customers can trade in and upgrade to a new Vodacom, MTN or Telkom iPhone cellular contract and get up to R20,000 cash back straight into their bank account – on the same day.

iStore is also guaranteeing their trade-in values until 31 December 2023, allowing customers to secure their trade-in value now, ensuring they get the highest possible value once they are ready to trade in and upgrade.

“For contract pre-orders on Vodacom, MTN or Telkom, iStore customers are able to conveniently submit the required paperwork online to avoid queues in store. Once the contract upgrade has been finalised, customers will have their new iPhones delivered directly to them,” the store said.

Additionally, iStore has seen a growing trend where customers are moving away from funding their device through a cellular contract by using iStore’s trade-in values to buy iPhones outright.

“To further support their customers with a smarter, more affordable way to own the latest iPhone – for a limited time only – iStore will add an additional R3 500 saving when customers choose to buy outright and trade in any iPhone 13 series, and an additional R2 000 saving when trading in any iPhone 12 series phone,” it said.

The table below shows the pricing structures of the new iPhone 15 and the range of trade-in offers available.

Apple Watch

iStore today announced that it will offer Apple Watch Series 9, starting at R10 499, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 at R20 999 for pre-orders online from today and customers will have their Apple Watches delivered straight to their door the same day.

Customers who upgrade to a new Apple Watch at iStore have the option to purchase iCare Plus, which includes a screen repair and 1-year Extended Warranty (2 years in total) for R449.

Additionally, You get a free six-month subscription to ReactPlus when you purchase your Apple Watch from iStore. After that, you can continue subscribing to ReactPlus for only R39 a month.

Customers can trade-in their current Apple Watch and receive a direct discount against the purchase of a new Apple Watch.

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