iPhone 13 South African launch date revealed
iStore has revealed that Apple’s new flagship iPhone 13 series will be available in South Africa starting from 8 October 2021.
Apple announced its latest smartphones on Tuesday at Apple’s California Streaming event.
They will be available in the US from 24 September 2021, two weeks earlier than the South African release.
The iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max offer several improvements over 2020’s Pro models, including significantly upgraded cameras.
“The pro camera system gets its biggest advancement ever with new Ultra Wide, Wide, and Telephoto cameras that capture stunning photos and video, powered by the unmatched performance of A15 Bionic, more powerful than the leading competition,” Apple stated.
The cameras now support a Cinematic Video mode, which can shift focus between subjects automatically for impressive movie-like effects and record in the high-quality ProRes codec.
Low-light shooting has also been substantially improved, with support added on all three lenses and the wide camera capturing 2.2 times more light.
Other improvements include adaptive high refresh rate displays going up to 120Hz, longer-lasting batteries, and better overall performance thanks to the A15 Bionic chip.
However, the designs have remained largely the same except for a 20% smaller notch at the top of the display.
iPhone 13 Pro will be available starting 8 October. The best Pro camera system ever on iPhone. Dramatically more powerful. Learn More: https://t.co/Fns69S8AGr pic.twitter.com/XUpUL2XY2U
— iStoreZA (@MyiStoreSA) September 15, 2021
Pricing remains unknown at this point, and the iStore told MyBroadband there were no details it could share on this.
Assuming that the iStore will stick with its previous margins and its shipping and distribution costs haven’t changed substantially compared to 2020, the price of last year’s iPhone 12 could indicate what potential buyers should expect.
The iPhone 12 Mini launched at R15,999 in December 2020 in South Africa, following a big delay brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the time, the rand was trading between R14.50 and R15.00 to the dollar, slightly worse than its current performance.
Notably, Apple kept the US pricing for the iPhone 13 line-up the same as their predecessors.
The entry-level 128GB versions of each model carry the following price tags:
- iPhone 13 Mini — $699
- iPhone 13 — $799
- iPhone 13 Pro — $999
- iPhone 13 Pro Max — $1,099
Depending on the currency forward cover Core Group obtained, it’s possible that the iPhone 13 series could launch at lower or similar prices than the iPhone 12 in South Africa.
For the iPhone 13 Mini this is a price of around R15,999, while the standard iPhone 13 could start at R18,999.
The iPhone 13 Pro might start at R23,499, while the iPhone 13 Pro Max 128GB could retail for around R25,999.
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