Apple's online store returns to Russia with huge price hikes
Remember how Russia's sudden currency devaluation led Apple to shut down its online store in the country, leaving locals without access to one of the biggest internet shops around? Well, Apple is back -- and unfortunately, the prices reflect Russia's new economic reality. If you want a 16GB iPhone 6, for example, you'll have to shell out 35 percent more than you did before, at 53,990 rubles off-contract. That's equivalent to $980, or enough to make that US-bought iPhone 6 Plus (which tops out at $949) seem like a bargain.
Currency adjustments are nothing new for Apple. However, the big jump in pricing doesn't bode well for technology fans as a whole, no matter whose platform they prefer. If companies want to maintain their previous profit levels, they'll have to implement similar price hikes that make it that much harder to afford gadgets. And Russians know it. They've been going on buying sprees to get TVs, phones and other products that should hold their value even if the ruble continues to slide.
[Image credit: AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko]
