The U.S. Department of Commerce has added a ban on the export of smartphones over $300 to its list of American goods that are prohibited from being shipped to Russia. As a result, all modern Apple iPhone models are affected, including the latest iPhone 14, which starts at $799. However, experts say that this does not mean that there will no longer be an Apple iPhone in Russia, as phones are not directly exported from the U.S. to Russia.

New Apple iPhones are manufactured in Asia and their distribution chains are diverse and complex, with enough countries and companies ready to sell devices to Russia in large and small batches. The ban on expensive goods and luxury goods to Russia, including cars, clothes, and jewelry, has been in place since March 2022, but these goods have been replaced by parallel import.

The average price of an imported phone has fallen dramatically in Russia, indicating that people are saving more on expensive devices, and the volume of imports from China has decreased.

According to experts, the share of iPhone sales in Russia has been declining, with expensive phones being bought less. Apple Rus LLC, the official supplier of iPhones to Russia, generated revenue of over 380 billion rubles in 2021 and paid 14.5 billion rubles in dividends to shareholders at the end of 2021. Apple in California does not directly own the Russian company, but through four different companies in Ireland.