Thieves steal Php 20M worth of iPhone X in broad daylight

MANILA, Philippines — Apple’s iPhone X (iPhone 10), the company’s newest and most advanced smartphone is officially out of the market on November 4, 2017 (November 3 US Time).

iPhone X release Philippines
The $999 iPhone X is being sold for Php 90,000 in the Philippine grey market. Photo Credit: Apple
Apple started to accept pre-orders last Friday, October 27 while the shipping will be a week after it. On the actual day of the releasing, still unidentified men in hooded jackets broke into a UPS delivery truck and stole over 300 units of iPhone X and various accessories near an Apple Store in San Francisco.

According the courier’s delivery team, the thieves breached and ransacked the company vehicle, where $370,000 (Php 20,350,000) worth of inventories were loaded while they were having another delivery in a nearby establishment at around 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Authorities are still investigating the said incident and have yet to determine the culprits.

iPhone X became available in 50 countries across the globe. Unfortunately, Philippines is not one of those. Pinoy mavens and early adopters are hoping to have their units by Christmas season but according to Apple, it will not be available by this year as the production can’t keep up with the overwhelming demand.

Prior to the launch of iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8s were officially launched here in the Philippines last September but the distribution will be on November 17 as per giant telcos Smart and Globe.

iPhone X is sold for $999 in the US and still to be announced in the Philippines. The sellers from the grey market however, capitalized on the situation and opened up the pre-selling and reservations for Php 80,000 to Php 90,000 per unit which is almost doubled as the SRP of Apple US and UK.

Certainly, grey market vendors will be able to bring iPhone X in the country before Christmas. But, will you score it for Php 90,000? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

— Joey Boy Capos, The Summit Express



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