iPhone Duo lands in South Africa at R47,999, about 27% above US pricing

Apple's first foldable iPhone now has a South African price. iStore lists the iPhone Duo from R47,999 for the 256GB model up to R76,999 for 2TB, and the device is on pre-order ahead of Apple's 23 October availability date.

That makes the Duo the most expensive iPhone iStore sells: the 2TB model costs R17,000 more than the R59,999 2TB iPhone 18 Pro Max. It also carries a steeper local mark-up than the rest of Apple's October launches.

The four prices

iStore's product page lists four storage tiers, each in star white or night sky:

• 256GB: R47,999
• 512GB: R52,999
• 1TB: R62,499
• 2TB: R76,999

In the US, Apple charges $1,999, $2,199, $2,599 and $3,199 for the same tiers, before sales tax.

How the 27% is worked out

TechCentral converted the US price at about R16.46 to the dollar and added 15% VAT. On that basis the base Duo would cost roughly R37,800 here. At R47,999 it is about 27% more, and the gap holds at around 27% on all four tiers.

The same sum gives Apple's new HomeView and Apple TV 4K, both $299 in the US and R6,299 at iStore, a local premium of about 11%. HomePod mini 2, at R3,499 against $149, sits at about 24%.

The comparison overstates the gap a little, because American shelf prices exclude state sales tax. Even so, the Duo's mark-up is more than double that of the new home devices. The rand price did come in below TechCentral's September estimate, which had the base model above R50,000 and the 2TB model above R80,000.

What the money buys, on paper

Apple's specifications include a 5.4-inch outer screen and a 7.6-inch inner screen, the A20 Pro chip, two 48MP rear cameras, a titanium body rated IP68 and a battery in each half. Apple claims up to 31 hours of video playback on the inner screen. SA Tech News has not tested the Duo; these are Apple's figures.

The local comparison

South African buyers already have book-style Android foldables to weigh against it. HONOR's Magic V6 carries a recommended price of R39,999 here, which puts the cheapest Duo R8,000 higher.

MTN said in September that it would sell the Duo. Monthly contract prices for it from MTN, Vodacom and the other networks were not available in the sources we checked.

What is still open

When pre-orders opened on 16 October, iStore was quoting shipping in one to two weeks, according to TechCentral. In the US, delivery estimates for new orders reportedly slipped into January 2027 within hours, according to The Apple Post. Apple's own launch release does not name South Africa among its launch markets; the 23 October date comes from MTN and local reporting.

For now, iStore's page shows a price and a pre-order button, but no delivery date.